Following a period of relative quiet, the European Commission’s output from its State aid investigations into tax rulings and special tax regimes seems to be ramping up again, with Luxembourg in particular under fresh scrutiny. After a three-year investigation into a tax ruling obtained by Amazon from the Luxembourg tax authorities, the Commission has finally concluded that the ruling falls foul of EU State aid rules. Luxembourg is now required to recover the aid, estimated at €250m, plus interest, from Amazon. Dominic Robertson and Emma Game, review the decision, look at the US view on all this, ask why Ireland is back in the State aid spotlight and whether there are any unanswered State aid questions.
This article was first published in the December 2017 edition of Financier Worldwide