Compliance Action Corporate Tax Deals Across EU Face Scrutiny as Probe Widens
The European Union’s probe of sweetheart fiscal deals expanded as EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager asked all EU countries to provide information about tax accords with multinationals.
The EU is seeking lists of every company granted a tax ruling from 2010 to 2013, the European Commission said today in an e-mailed statement.
The information will be used along with knowledge gained from investigations to fight for “fair tax competition,” Vestager said.
As the probe expands, the commission assured it is “well-equipped” to process the information requested, Ricardo Cardoso, an EU competition spokesman, told reporters today.
Tax issues have cast a shadow over the first few weeks of Jean-Claude Juncker’s tenure as president of the commission after a journalists’ group disclosed in early November that Luxembourg helped hundreds of companies shave tax bills. Juncker, who was Luxembourg’s prime minister for almost 19 years until late 2013, said last month that he had no involvement in the deals.
In response to the so-called LuxLeaks, Juncker has brushed off questions over whether he should step down, saying he’ll lead Europe’s fight against tax evasion.
