M5S says 76 MEPs sign Juncker motion

(ANSA) - Brussels, November 18 - 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.