Italy's anti-establishment
5-Star Movement (M5S) said Tuesday that 76 members of the
European Parliament have signed the political party's motion to
censure Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the European Commission,
for allegedly helping big business dodge taxes.
The complaints date from Juncker's period as finance
minister and prime minister of Luxembourg, which offered reduced
business tax rates.
Members of Italy's Northern League said they also signed
the petition launched by the euro-skeptic M5S.
The motion of censure is equivalent to a motion of no
confidence.
The M5S said in a statement that the motion will be debated
and voted on in plenary session next week in the European
Parliament.
Approval requires a two-thirds majority of eligible voters.
Juncker has defended himself from criticism of the tax
regime he oversaw in Luxembourg, which some say created tax
havens at a cost to other countries.
As prime minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013, Juncker
said processes there were "always legal" and not intended as
divisive.
Many corporations arrange their affairs to avoid paying
taxes in jurisdictions where they earn millions in revenues.
Google has been frequently named as an organization that
avoids paying taxes in many countries through an intricate
series of holding companies.
The Italian government has calculated that profitable
multinationals including Amazon and Facebook had together paid
just one million euros in taxes in 2012.
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