Authorities in France and the Netherlands have raided the offices of streaming giant Netflix in Paris and Amsterdam as part of a tax fraud investigation.
The investigation, which began in November 2022, is being conducted by officials from both countries.
Netflix has not yet commented specifically on the raids but has stated that it complies with tax laws in all the regions where it operates. The Amsterdam office serves as the company’s headquarters for operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
The French investigation is being led by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF), a specialized unit that handles high-profile white-collar crime cases. The investigation is focused on suspicions of serious tax fraud and off-the-books work, according to the PNF.
Authorities are also looking into Netflix’s tax filings for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021. The French sources have revealed that simultaneous searches are being conducted in the Netherlands, with both countries cooperating for several months.
Last year, it was reported that Netflix in France had been minimizing its tax payments by declaring its revenue generated in France to the Netherlands until 2021. After abandoning this practice, the company’s declared turnover in France reportedly jumped significantly.
Investigators are now trying to determine if Netflix continued to reduce its profits after abandoning the tax minimization scheme in 2021.
The streaming giant has been operating in France for over a decade, with its Paris office opening in 2020 and boasting approximately 10 million subscribers in the country.
