Netherlands to Appeal EU Decision that Starbucks Tax Deal Is Illegal State Aid
November 27 2015 - 3:20PM
Dow Jones News
By Archie van Riemsdijk
The government of the Netherlands said Friday it would appeal
last month's decision by the European Union that its tax ruling
with Starbucks Corp. amounts to illegal state aid.
In a letter to Dutch parliament, Finance Minister Jeroen
Dijsselbloem said he isn't convinced by the European Commission's
arguments and wants to provide clarity on the government's practice
of tax rulings for international corporations.
On October 21st, the EU's executive arm ordered Starbucks and
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to pay back tens of millions of euros in
unpaid taxes.
The unprecedented move cast uncertainty over thousands of
similar tax deals struck by multinationals across Europe.
The commission said the tax deals the Netherlands made with
Starbucks and Luxembourg made with Fiat were illegal because they
"endorsed artificial and complex methods to establish taxable
profits for the companies, that "do not reflect economic
reality."
Luxembourg's government has also said it disagreed with the EU's
decision.
According to Mr. Dijsselbloem's letter, the commission reached
its conclusion after applying new criteria to rules for calculating
profits between subsidiaries.
The criteria aren't in line with Dutch national legislation or
guidelines of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, the ministry said, adding that it hopes to clear up
the legal uncertainty both for companies and for the government
through the appeal.
"The Dutch government greatly values its practice of offering
companies certainty on tax issues in advance, fully in line with
Dutch national legislation and OECD guidelines," Mr. Dijsselbloem
said in the letter to parliament.
Starbucks and Fiat didn't immediately respond to requests for
comment on the Dutch government's decision to appeal.
In October, Starbucks said it would appeal the decision and
expressed concerns that it contained "serious flaws."
Mr. Dijsselbloem also stressed his willingness to support EU and
OECD initiatives to battle tax evasion by multinational
corporations, by increasing transparency and aligning national tax
systems.
Write to Archie van Riemsdijk at archie.vanriemsdijk@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 27, 2015 15:05 ET (20:05 GMT)
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