The European Commission has ruled that Starbucks Corp. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s tax deals with the Netherlands and Luxembourg are illegal state aid, ordering the the respective governments to recover as much as 30 million euros ($34.05 million) from each. The ruling follows an EU investigation launched in June 2014. It looked into whether the two companies were given so-called sweetheart tax deals that effectively lowered their corporate taxes. “Tax rulings that artificially reduce a company’s tax burden are not in line with EU state aid rules. They are illegal. I hope that, with today’s decisions, this message will be heard by Member State governments and companies alike,” the EU’s competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. The commission has now ordered the Dutch and Luxembourg authorities to recover €20 million to €30 million from each company, but the precise amount will be determined by the local tax officials.
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