EU says McDonald's Luxembourg tax deal is not illegal
McDonald's has avoided having to repay millions in back taxes in a decision that has taken the European Commission three years
Brussels — McDonald's has avoided having to repay millions of euros in back taxes after EU anti-trust regulators said that its tax deal with Luxembourg was not illegal, citing quirks in the Grand Duchy's bilateral tax treaty with the US. The decision by the European Commission came after a three-year long investigation, part of its crackdown on illegal sweetheart deals between EU governments and multinationals, that has resulted in Apple, Starbucks and Fiat paying billions of euros in back taxes. The commission said McDonald's tax deal is in line with national tax laws and the Luxembourg-US double-taxation treaty. "Our in-depth investigation has shown that the reason for double non-taxation in this case is a mismatch between Luxembourg and US tax laws, and not a special treatment by Luxembourg. Therefore, Luxembourg did not break EU state-aid rules," European Competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said. "Of course, the fact remains that McDonald's did not pay any taxes on these...
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