Wednesday,
November 6, 2024 - In a significant
escalation of a tax fraud investigation, French and Dutch authorities conducted
coordinated raids on Netflix offices in Paris and Amsterdam on Tuesday,
according to a judicial source. The probe, which began in November 2022, is
examining allegations of "covering up serious tax fraud and off-the-books
work" within the global streaming giant.
Specialized financial investigators from both countries carried out the
raids, focusing on Netflix's European headquarters in Amsterdam. The company is
already under scrutiny in France for its tax filings between 2019 and 2021.
Netflix has maintained that it complies with tax regulations across all
countries of operation. However, French news outlet La Lettre A previously
reported that until 2021, Netflix structured its French operations in a way
that saw subscribers sign contracts through a Dutch subsidiary, reducing its
tax obligations in France. This arrangement reportedly led Netflix to pay less
than €1 million in taxes to the French government for 2019 and 2020.
The ongoing investigation seeks to determine if Netflix continued any
practices that may have illegally minimized its declared profits in France,
affecting its tax bill. Netflix reported over $9.8 billion in global revenue
and a net profit of $2.4 billion from its 282 million subscribers in the third
quarter of this year alone.
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