Italy hands VAT bill to Meta, X and LinkedIn in landmark tax case

Visitors take pictures by a sign posted in front of Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Jan. 29, 2025.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Italy has handed tax demands to Meta, X and LinkedIn in the formal and final step in an unprecedented official VAT claim against the three U.S. web giants that could have repercussions across the European Union, four sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

While it has been reported that Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta and Elon Musk’s social network X were under investigation for alleged tax fraud, it had not been disclosed that Microsoft’s LinkedIn unit was also caught up in Italy’s pilot VAT case for the tech sector in Europe.

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