Amazon could face European Commission tax probe

The European Commission announced on Tuesday that it had opened an investigation into whether Luxembourg had given preferential tax treatment to the e-commerce giant Amazon. The inquiry, which will explore whether Luxembourg broke the European Union’s competition rules, follows similar investigations into the tax arrangements of Apple in Ireland and Starbucks in the Netherlands.

Move aside, Apple. It looks like it’s Amazon’s turn in the European tax probe dunk tank. The Financial Times is reporting that the European Commission plans to open an official investigation into a tax deal the Seattle-based e-commerce company has with Luxembourg. According to the FT, the investigation will focus on a 2003 tax ruling that allowed Amazon to limit the taxes it paid. The move is part of a much broader probe being conducted by the European Commission into tax deals some of its member countries have struck with big corporations. Just last week, the EC released a report claiming similar deals that Apple has with Ireland are illegal.