European Court of Justice Rejects European Commission's Complaint Against American Company Amazon

On Thursday, December 14, the European Court of Justice ruled that the European Commission failed to prove its claim that Amazon received illegal aid from the Luxembourg government, thus rejecting the Commission's complaint against the American company. In 2017, the European Commission accused Amazon of receiving special tax advantages from the Luxembourg government, claiming that these advantages allowed Amazon to avoid taxes on about three-quarters of its total revenue in the European Union. The Commission argued that this agreement between Amazon and the Luxembourg government was contrary to EU internal market regulations. The European Court of Justice stated in its ruling that the Commission could not prove that this agreement constituted a form of state aid or subsidy. Amazon welcomed the ruling, stating that the decision of the European Court of Justice proves that the company has complied with all regulations and has not received any special advantages. In response to the ruling, the European Commission announced that it would carefully review the decision. Amazon is an American e-commerce company founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Seattle, Washington. The company began its operations in 1995 as an offline bookstore and later expanded to selling new and used products online. Amazon now distributes a wide range of goods and products globally and is considered one of the largest online retailers in the world.