“The back taxes, penalties and interest that the French are seeking from Amazon relate to earnings in France for the years 2006-10 and ‘the allocation of income between foreign jurisdictions.’ Amazon reduces its exposure to corporation tax in France and most of the rest of Europe by reporting European sales through a Luxembourg-based holding company, taking advantage of the tiny Duchy’s relatively generous taxation of non-domestic earnings.”
formerly http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/11/13/amazon-com-gets-252-million-tax-bill-from-france/
