Italy demands hundreds of millions of euros According to Reuters, in the return tax from the Meta Platform (NASDAQ:META), LINKEDIN and X, the value-added tax (VAT) dispute can set a precedent within the EU.
Although Meta and X are known to be under investigation, it is newly revealed that Linkedinnnow, by Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), also participated in a pilot case in which Italy regards it as a technical field of VAT implementation. According to the report, Italy sought 887.6 million from Meta (about $961 million), 140 million from LinkedIn and 12.5 million from X.
These totals cover activities dating back to 2015, although the current formal notice focuses only on the years when Italian restriction regulations expire in 2015 and 2016. Italian authorities believe that user registration on social media platforms should be considered taxable transactions and claim that personal data can be accessed to services that constitute payment.
Meta told Reuters it disagrees with the explanation but said it is working with authorities. LinkedIn declined to comment, X did not respond. Since VAT is a uniform EU tax, the outcome of the Italian case could impact similar enforcement actions across the group and potentially challenge how social media companies can make money using user data.
This article first appears on Gurufocus.
