Italian prosecutors have launched an investigation into alleged tax evasion by US streaming giant Netflix, according to unnamed sources cited by Italian daily Corriere della Sera. A court in Milan has reportedly alleged that Netflix should be required to pay taxes in Italy even though it has no physical headquarters in the country. Prosecutors argued that Netflix uses local infrastructure (cables and servers) to stream content to its 1.4 million Italian users and, as such, should pay taxes on its revenues under Italian law. The report added that the probe followed checks carried out by Milan’s Guardia di Finanza (tax police), with prosecutors required to open an investigation in view of the scale of the alleged tax evasion.
A separate report in Reuters confirmed the probe, citing a source with direct knowledge of the matter, and adding that no Netflix executives are under investigation because the process is still at a preliminary stage.
