Bloomberg News
The European official investigating special tax deals for multinational companies defended her inquiries Monday, deflecting U.S. accusations she is disproportionately targeting U.S. companies.
The European investigations follow long-standing rules and guidelines and are on “firm legal ground,” wrote Margrethe Vestager, the European Commissioner for Competition, in reply to a Feb. 11 letter from U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. She emphasized the global commitment among major countries, including the U.S., for changing the tax rules to prevent companies from booking profits in low-tax or no-tax countries.
“In this context of common values and objectives, we should not allow misunderstandings of our respective legal and institutional frameworks to arise,” Vestager wrote to Lew. “Despite the constructive engagement between ourselves and staff on these matters, your letter suggests that there is still some way to go.”
Secretary Lew had warned in his letter that tax changes under way in Europe would result in more taxation of U.S.-based companies by EU countries, which would then erode the sums eventually paid for tax bills in the U.S.
U.S. companies whose tax practices are under investigation include Apple Inc. AAPL, +0.74% and Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, -0.47% Non-U.S. companies also have been affected.
