Netflix offices in Paris and headquarters in Amsterdam searched for alleged tax fraud

THE Netflix offices in Paris, as well as its headquarters in Amsterdam, were registered due to investigation for alleged tax fraud. This inspection is part of the file launched by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF), the agency to combat tax delinquency launched by Emmanuel Macron’s government in November 2022.

According to the agency EFE, the large company was informed early in the morning of last Tuesday, November 5. Investigations by police and judicial agents continued throughout the day in the Parisian premises. At the same time, the headquarters of the American multinational entertainment company in Amsterdam was also the subject of a search by Dutch authorities.

However, the offices were raided because they were under investigation for tax fraud, money laundering and fictitious work. This operation responds to a preliminary investigation opened two years ago for “money laundering and aggravated tax fraud” and “fictitious organized gang work”. The Netflix subsidiary in France was subject to a tax audit for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021. This head office was also registered on Wednesday November 6.

Judicial sources told the agency Reuters that The company is not believed to be charged with any crimes at this time. “We are actively cooperating with the French authorities, a country in which Netflix is ​​an important contributor to the local economy, by respecting all legal tax obligations,” the platform expressed in a press release.

Between 2019 and 2020, the company only paid one million euros in taxes in the French country, who sounded the alarm of the PNF, according to France Press. The prosecution “has been working on this case for months”, which is linked to a media investigation. The letterwhich was resumed in 2023 according to which The French authorities were vigilant about Netflix’s movements, given the few advantages that they would likely have declared both in France and in the rest of Europe.

This is not the first time that Netflix has been faced with a tax fraud case. in a country of the European Union. It already happened in 2022, when he had to deposit more than 55 million euros in Italy to avoid ending up in court.

With over 282 million subscribers worldwide with data as of September 2024, Netflix achieved revenue of $9.82 billion in the third quarter of the year, reaching net profit of $2.4 billion and with recent price increases in its subscription plans.

In the case of Spain, the problems encountered by the streaming platform come from the rate that large telecommunications operators must contribute to the Treasury. In 2023, the tax authorities opened a formal case against Netflix for non-contribution of 1.5% of revenues of operations to the Spanish public coffers. The process was closed without major consequences.