COMPANIES TO REPAY €700M AS BELGIUM SCHEME OUTLAWED

摘要

The European Commission has ordered Belgium to recover €700m (£525m) in unpaid taxes from 35 multinational companies (MNCs) who benefited from the country's 'excess profit' tax scheme, which has been judged illegal under EU state aid rules. The scheme ran from 2005 and reduced the corporate tax base for some companies by between 50% and 90% to discount for 'excess profits' that allegedly resulted from being part of a multinational group, for example due to supply chain networks. The scheme was marketed by the tax authority under the logo 'Only in Belgium'. It allowed multinational companies to reduce their tax base for 'excess profit' on the basis of a binding tax ruling which was typically valid for four years and could be renewed.