The Economic and Financial Police Unit of the Gdf of Milan has executed an emergency precautionary seizure of approximately €121 million for tax fraud against the Italian branch of Amazon.
The investigation, led by prosecutors Paolo Storari and Valentina Mondovì, focuses on “labour reservoirs,” a system often used by large companies. They secure “highly competitive rates” by outsourcing labour for logistics services. This outsourcing is done to cooperatives, consortia, and intermediary companies irregularly. The system results in the “exploitation of labour.”
As a result, the Economic and Financial Police Unit of Milan seized €121million from Amazon Italy for tax fraud.
Only this morning, Amazon posted on their news pages, that the company “creates new job opportunities in Italy and contributes to the country’s economic development”.
“We’re committed to creating quality jobs and opportunities in Italy, and by the end of 2024 we expect to employ around 19,000 people in permanent roles.
Equity, diversity, inclusion, safety and training are paving the way towards our goal of becoming the world’s best employer. In Italy, by the end of the year, we expect to reach around 19,000 permanent employees, 1,000 more than announced last year, distributed across 60 sites throughout the country.”
Amazon says it complies with laws everywhere
In February, Amazon released a statement saying they comply with tax authorities in countries where they operate. “We pay corporate tax in countries across Europe amounting to hundreds of millions of euros, and we operate in full compliance with local tax laws everywhere.”
The statement also read, “Last year, we opened several new sites across Europe, and we now have more than 220,000 permanent employees across the region. Many of these employees are based at our operations sites, where we offer a variety of roles, from robotics engineers and finance managers through to employees picking and packing orders for our customers.
“These are some of the most advanced workplaces of their kind in the world, and the people who work there receive competitive pay and a comprehensive benefits package from day one, including a retirement savings plan and healthcare, medical and life insurance.”
In 2021, Italy’s Antitrust Authority fined the e-commerce giant more than €1billion due to ‘exploitation of independent sellers’.
