The European Commission thinks that Britain has been widening a tax exemption agreed in 1971 without EU agreement Francois Lenoir/ReutersThe European Commission is to take Britain to the European Union’s highest court as it escalates a long-running dispute over what it regards as unfair tax breaks for commodities traders in London. The decision to refer the case to the European Court of Justice comes two months before the UK is due to leave the EU on March 29 and may complicate attempts to find a way out of the current deadlock over Brexit. Under Theresa May’s withdrawal deal Britain would have to abide by ECJ rulings in cases started while it was a member or during the transition period. Last year Brussels started an investigation into whether Britain had broken single market rules by failing to pay enough tax on commodities trading. The decision…

Source: The Times January 24, 2019 09:00 UTC