State aid/Amazon

The European Commission today published a preliminary finding in its investigation into Amazon's tax deal with Luxembourg, finding that it likely constitutes illegal state aid. Commenting on the finding, Greens/EFA economic and finance spokesperson Sven Giegold said:

"This finding stands to be a breakthrough in the fight against tax dumping in the EU. Assuming it is upheld, it will have direct implications for all the aggressive tax deals between multinational corporations and countries like Luxembourg, Ireland and the Netherlands, putting them in the line of fire. The Commission must ensure proper follow-up action, with corporations liable to reimburse any revenue gained through illegal tax deals. This would provide a welcome boost to stretched exchequers in Europe. Following this week's breakthrough for creating an inquiry committee on tax avoidance in the European Parliament (1), as proposed by the Greens, we now urge the Parliament to swiftly put this in place and for the powers that be not to try any underhand tricks."

Green competition spokesperson Michel Reimon added:

"The EU Commission is implying that the Luxembourgish tax model contravenes European competition law and that the deal amounts to illegal state aid for Amazon. This is both legally and politically problematic: these deals give large corporations a massively unfair advantage over start-ups and smaller enterprises. As such, it totally undermines efforts by the EU to prioritise the digital economy and put it on the fast track."

(1) More information on the inquiry committee can be found at: http://www.greens-efa.eu/tax-evasionluxembourg-leaks-13398.html