WASHINGTON: Europe’s powerful Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said that the EU order for Apple to pay US$15bil (RM62.13bil) in taxes did not represent any bias against US companies. Speaking hours after the European Union launched an in-depth probe into alleged sweetheart tax deals between French gas group Engie and Luxembourg, Vestager said the new case was evidence that the EU was going after all tax evaders. The European Commission, the EU executive arm, last month ordered Apple to reimburse a record €13bil (RM60.17bil) in unpaid taxes in Ireland. That came after US companies, including Starbucks, Amazon and Google parent Alphabet, have come under probes over the low profits tax they pay in Europe due to alleged sweetheart tax deals with certain governments. Vestager, speaking at a news conference ahead of a meeting with Lew, said that of some 150 such tax rulings made by the European Commission since 2000, only 2% involved US companies.

Source: The Star September 20, 2016 08:24 UTC