A Japanese court order has put Amazon Japan into quite the fix: they owe the Japanese government at least $119 million in taxes.

The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau stated that Amazon Japan failed to report their income in Japan within the period of 2003 to 2005. Informal accusations have been made against Amazon ever since 2007, but it is only recently that it seems that authorities have enough evidence to slap the multi-national firm with a formal one.

The problem lies with the manner that Amazon Japan handles its income. Apparently, Amazon Japan’s figures are reported in the United States, where they are taxed accordingly under US law. However, there is a substantial amount that is left untaxed under the US-Japan Tax Treaty : an amount that is legally taxable in Japan, and has accumulated to the otherworldly sum they have now.

Amazon has reported a worldwide income figure of about $842 million last year, of which around 10% is contributed by the Japan branch.