US/EU: Treasury Chief to meet Vestager as Apple tax decision looms

US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is set to meet with the European Union’s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager this week as she prepares to deliver a final decision on a probe into Apple tax affairs in Ireland.

The meeting with Lew, who has criticized the European Commission tax investigations, comes amid mounting speculation that the authority will rule as soon as this month in the case — one of a raft of investigations into whether multinational companies don’t pay their fair share of taxes.

Vestager has repeatedly denied she’s deliberately taking aim at US firms, insisting that probes into tax rulings are part of the watchdog’s responsibility to police fair competition within the EU. Clawing back undue advantages — as was the case when Starbucks Corp. was ordered to pay as much as 30 million euros in back taxes to the Netherlands — simply restores equal treatment, she insists.

The commission’s press office didn’t comment beyond confirming the Brussels meeting on Wednesday. Spokespeople for Apple and the US Treasury Department didn’t have an immediate comment.

Full Content: Financial Post

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