Amazon ordered to pay back €250mn in taxes to Luxembourg

The EU ordered Amazon on Wednesday to pay back about €250 million ($294 million) in taxes to Luxembourg, saying it had been given an unfair tax advantage from 2003. Luxembourg gave illegal tax benefits to Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, according to European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. “As a result, almost three-quarters of Amazon's profits were not taxed.” The €250 million is less than the estimate of €400 million which sources told Reuters last year that Vestager had calculated at that time. The exact amount of back-payment will still need to be calculated by Luxembourg authorities, the commission said.