Brussels — On Wednesday, the EU ordered the world’s largest online retailer, Amazon, to pay about ¤250m ($294m) in back-taxes to Luxembourg, saying it has been getting an unfair tax advantage since 2003. Joining other US tech giants in the sights of EU anti-trust chief Margrethe Vestager, Amazon said it was considering an appeal over the payment, though it was less than some close to the case had expected and a small fraction of the ¤13bn that Apple was ordered to pay to Ireland last year. "Luxembourg gave illegal tax benefits to Amazon. As a result, almost three quarters of Amazon’s profits were not taxed," Competition Commissioner Vestager said. The commission said the exact amount of tax to be reclaimed would still need to be calculated by Luxembourg authorities. Luxembourg, whose tiny economy has benefited from providing a welcoming European home for multi-national companies, rejected the finding and said it was looking at its legal options. The ¤250m is significantly less than ...
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