EU dares to investigate US companies’ violations

The European Commission has got down to investigation of intra-group transactions of the US corporations, which violate tax law in the territory of the EU. The US in its turn believes that the stance of EU does not correspond with international agreements and regulations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in transfer pricing.

The European Commission investigates tax practice of Apple, Amazon.com and Starbucks Corp. Apple attracted attention of taxmen with its activity in Ireland, where the minimum corporate tax rate among the EU countries is offered.

The case is that the European Commission has started considering legitimate tax reliefs in some countries as a kind of government assistance since 2014, however such aid contradicts with the ban within the EU itself. Thus, additional payments may be collected from companies which have reliefs in some countries. The US Department of the Treasury has already claimed that it violates existing international practice and sets a dangerous precedent, as the decision will cover the period before 2014 when Brussels announced about its new approach for the first time.

The US Treasury Department officials believe that the problem on international companies evading tax paying really exists, but it should be settled on a multilateral basis. Thus, the EU may face reciprocal symmetrical steps.

Pravda.Ru