Tax authorities in Italy have filed a complaint against the Italian subsidiary of PokerStars, Halfords Media Italia, alleging that the company avoided tax totalling around €300m between 2009 and 2014.
A statement released by the Guardia di Finanza does not name any individuals, but accuses the “sole director of the [Halfords] group as bearing primary financial responsibility,” adding that, “Italy has filed tax-fraud charges against that individual.”
PokerStars was quick to dispute the allegations. Eric Hollreiser, the company’s head of corporate communications, said in a statement: “PokerStars has been working with Italian tax authorities since they launched an audit several years ago.
“We have operated in compliance with the applicable local tax regulations and have paid €120m in local taxes over the period covered by the audit. Like many other global e-commerce companies, we vigorously dispute the stance of the tax authority regarding local establishment.
“The audit is ongoing and we hope to resolve the issue in our favour soon. In the meantime, our [Italian] operations continue as usual and we remain focused on delivering the most popular online poker service in the Italian market.”
