A PYMNTS Company

EU: Rulings on Fiat and Starbucks could lead to billions in back taxes

By  |  October 20, 2015

The coffee giant Starbucks and Italian carmaker Fiat are expected to feel the European Commission’s wrath this week over their sweetheart tax deals with Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The decisions are likely to be the first of a series by the commission, covering such companies as Apple and Amazon, who may find themselves paying billions in back taxes.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    Subscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    The commission’s powerful competition services could make their first announcement tomorrow, with Fiat facing around €150 million (£110 million) in tax repayments and Starbucks around €20 million.

    We’d love to be your preferred source for news.

    Please add us to your preferred sources list so our news, data and interviews show up in your feed. Thanks!

    Add as Preferred Source

    With Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner, cancelling a scheduled visit to China citing pressing job-related matters, speculation is rife that the regulator is ready to announce the end of a two-year investigation into the preferential tax treatment from Dutch and Luxembourg authorities.

    The commission said earlier this year that Starbucks may have avoided taxes when one of its Dutch units paid millions of euros to a UK-based arm of the company for a technique to roast coffee beans. Starbucks insists it complies “with all relevant rules, laws and OECD guidelines”, and pays a global effective tax rate of around 33 per cent. In Fiat’s case, the commission questioned Luxembourg’s arrangement with one of its units, Fiat Finance & Trade.

    Full content: The Guardian

    Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.