Internet retailer Amazon said it had received a $252 million demand from the French tax authorities for back taxes, interest and penalties in relation to “the allocation of income between foreign jurisdictions”.<\/p>\n
The claim comes as European countries step up efforts to clamp down on U.S. companies which minimize their tax bills in the continent by channeling profits through low-tax regimes.<\/p>\n
Amazon said it would fight the tax claim, in court if necessary, and that the demand related to the calendar years 2006 through 2010.<\/p>\n
“We disagree with the proposed assessment and intend to vigorously contest it,” the company said in its third quarter results filed last month.<\/p>\n
An Amazon official referred to the tax demand, which had not been previously widely reported, at a UK parliamentary committee hearing.<\/p>\n
Amazon minimizes its tax bill in France and other European countries by channeling sales through Luxembourg, which offers tax breaks to foreign companies which base themselves there.<\/p>\n
Amazon said it received a proposed tax assessment from the tax authority in September but that it was still awaiting a final assessment.<\/p>\n
Internet group Google is also under audit by the French tax authority regarding its structure, which channels sales through Ireland, but the company denied a newspaper report last month that it had received a back tax claim for 1 billion euros.<\/p>\n
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