Amazon received a final positive verdict from the European Union Court of Justice that threw away a 250 million euros fine that the tech giant received in 2017 for corporate tax avoidance.
The decision taken on Thursday is final and backed a decision made in 2021 by an EU lower court. The Court of Justice stated that the European Commission failed to show that Amazon received illegal state support from Luxembourg that “was incompatible with the internal market,” according to a press release.
The case was brought forward by EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager. The antitrust said that Amazon had almost three-quarters of its EU profits gone untaxed, by taking advantage since 2003 of special low tax conditions. The case was part of a broader EU strategy to look after deals between member states and companies to lure in multinationals in for their European headquarters.
Amazon welcomed the ruling as a reconfirmation that it was not receiving “no special treatment,” adding in a statement that they “look forward to continuing to focus on delivering for our customers across Europe.”
