Amazon has recently started to pay corporation tax in Britain rather than Luxembourg following earlier allegations of tax avoidance. To enable HM Revenue and Custom to collect fees that are based on UK sales, the e-commerce giant opened a London branch on 1 May.
In a statement, a spokesperson said Amazon was currently “recording retail sales made to customers in the UK through the UK branch. Previously, these sales were recorded in Luxembourg”.
Whilst tax claims can now be made on UK Amazon sales by HMRC, the global e-tailer has pre-warned that the tax payments are unlikely to be substantial. “Ecommerce is a low-margin business and highly competitive, and Amazon continues to invest heavily around the world, which means our profits are low”, the spokesperson added.
Amazon is currently undergoing a formal investigation by Brussels concerning rulings rendered by the Luxembourg tax authority. In addition the global etailer is facing a $250m tax dispute with the French authorities, as well as a $1.5bn query with US tax authorities.
Respectively, Amazon‘s highest ranking executives in the UK Christopher North, Managing Director, and Finance Director Rob McWilliam have stepped down as directors. The two both resigned from the board of Amazon.co.uk in the former half of this month.
Talya Misiri
