Italian-American car
manufacturer Fiat is one of three multinational companies
implicated in a probe by the European commission into whether
tax arrangements granted by three EU countries amounted to
illegal State aid.
The EU's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it had opened
an investigation to examine whether tax deals granted by
Luxembourg, Ireland and the Netherlands respectively to Fiat
Finance and Trade, Apple and Starbucks were in contravention of
European competition rules.
"In the current context of tight public budgets, it is
particularly important that large multinationals pay their fair
share of taxes," said EU antitrust chief Joaquín Almunia.
Ad hoc tax agreements are not illegal per se under European
law, but "they could contain illegal State aid if they involve
specific and selective advantages to some companies or groups of
companies," the EU regulator pointed out.
Brussels is not calling into question the overall tax
regimes of the three countries concerned, the antitrust
authority said.
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