Ecommerce Luxembourg grows 32% to €950 mln

Revenues from ecommerce in Luxembourg grew 32% percent in 2013. Online stores in the Western European country sold for about 950 million euros on products and services. The total online sales for this year are expected to reach 1.03 billion euros. That would represent a percentage growth of 8%.

The numbers were being announced by Romain Heinen, director of Luxembourgs’ tax authorities in an interview with Radio 100 as Tageblatt Online found out. Since a few years ecommerce is a veritable cash cow for the country’s treasury. But the joy probably won’t last long, as this profitable source will be drying up from 2015.

And that’s because from that year on the VAT rules will be changed in the European Union. The changes will effect telecommunication, broadcast and ecommerce companies who deliver to non taxable or private customers in EU member states. At the moment, these service are taxed where the company is established. And that’s why there are some big (ecommerce) companies situated in Luxembourg, because over there corporation taxes are way lower than in other EU countries. Amazon and eBay are amongst the big ecommerce players that have their headquarters in Luxembourg.