Temu, the Chinese cross-border e-commerce juggernaut, is shaking up Europe’s retail landscape with explosive growth, but faces mounting criticism over tax practices, minimal local staffing, and product safety issues.
In a new investigation by The Guardian, Temu’s journey is detailed: the platform more than doubled its EU profits to nearly $120 million (€111 million) in 2024, with revenue reaching $1.7 billion—a staggering jump in just one year. Behind this boom, Temu’s Irish parent, Whaleco Technology, reported these profits while employing just eight staff in the EU, and paying only $18 million in corporate tax.
The Tax Loophole and EU Response
Temu’s ascent relies on what some watchdogs and competitors call tax gaming. In the words of Paul Monaghan, head of the Fair Tax Foundation, Temu’s structure leaves little or no tax benefit in Europe, calling out the company’s chain of entities in tax havens and urging regulators to protect their…
tax base and enforce a fairer playing field for local retailers. Thanks to the EU’s de minimis rule, which waives customs and VAT on parcels, platforms like Temu are able to ship millions of low-value orders directly to consumers, side-stepping customs checks and significant tax payments.
According to the Fair Tax Foundation, Temu’s Irish unit alone helped funnel in EU sales this year. The European Commission plans to end the de minimis exemption in 2028, but for now, European stores pay full taxes while offshore e-commerce giants continue to undercut them.
Runaway Growth, Lean Staff, and Gaming the System Temu’s growth is jaw-dropping: it’s gone from nearly zero to about 115 million EU customers—a quarter of the population—since entering Europe in 2023.
Revenue more than doubled from $758 million (€703 million) to $1.7 billion (€1.58 billion) in 2024, further solidifying its dominance among bargain-hunting European consumers…
Discussion
0 Comments
No comments yet
Start the conversation
Share your take on this story and help shape the discussion.
Sign in to join the discussion.