A dedicated Task Force on Tax Planning Practices was set up in summer 2013 to follow up on public allegations of favourable tax treatment of certain companies (in particular in the form of tax rulings). The Commission extended this information inquiry to all Member States in December 2014, including a list of tax rulings issued in recent years, on the basis of which individual tax rulings have been requested.
The list of final decisions adopted since 2014 concerning tax planning practices and the list of formal ongoing investigations is presented below.
Final Decisions
Member State | Title | Date of decision | Link to final decision | Press release | Case no./ link to case |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK | UK tax scheme for multinationals (Controlled Foreign Company rules) | 02.04.2019 | Letter to Member State en | ||
Luxembourg | Alleged aid to McDonald's | 19.09.2018 | Letter to the Member State - working language en | ||
Luxembourg | State aid implemented by Luxembourg in favour of ENGIE | 20.06.2018 | Letter to the Member State - working language en | ||
Luxembourg | State aid granted by Luxembourg to Amazon | 04.10.2017 | Letter to the Member State - working language en | ||
Ireland | State aid implemented by Ireland to Apple | 30.08.2016 | Letter to the Member State - working language en | ||
Belgium | Excess Profit exemption in Belgium – Art. 185§2 b) CIR92 | 11.01.2016 | Letter to the Member State - working language en | ||
The Netherlands | State aid implemented by the Netherlands to Starbucks | 21.10.2015 | Letter to the Member State - working language en | ||
Luxembourg | State aid which Luxembourg granted to Fiat | 21.10.2015 | Letter to the Member State - working language en |
Open formal investigations
Member State | Title | Date of decision | Link to opening decision | Press release | Case no./ link to case |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Netherlands | Possible State aid in favour of Inter IKEA | 18.12.2017 | Letter to the Member State - working language en | ||
The Netherlands | Alleged aid to Nike | 10.01.2019 | Letter to the Member State - working language en | ||
Luxembourg | Alleged aid to Huhtamäki | 07.03.2019 | Letter to the Member State - working language en | ||
Belgium | Excess Profit Exemption | 16.09.2019 | N/A |
Previous decisions
The Commission has in the past adopted numerous decisions on tax planning practices, which provide precedents in the ongoing investigations.
- Aid C 55/01 - Aland Island Captive Insurance Companies, Finland (Harmful Measure: C 008) - OJ L 329/2002
- Aid C 48/01 - Vizcaya Coordination Centres, Spain (Harmful Measure: A 004) - OJ L 31/2003
- Aid C 47/01 - Control and Coordination Centres, Germany (Harmful Measure: AAM 019) - OJ L 177/2003
- Aid C 50/01 - Finance Companies, Luxembourg (Harmful Measure: B 003) - OJ L 153/2003
- Aid C 49/01 - Coordination Centres, Luxembourg (Harmful Measure: A 007) - OJ L 170/2003
- Aid C 16/02 - Trieste Financial Services and Insurance Centre, Italy (Harmful Measure: B 002) - OJ L 91/2003
- C 46/01 - Central Corporate Treasury Companies, France (Measure not considered harmful by the Group) - OJ L 330/2003
- C 51/01 - International Financing Activities, The Netherlands (Harmful Measure: B 004) - OJ L 180/2003
- Aid C 15/02 - Coordination Centres, Belgium (Harmful Measure: A 001) - OJ L 282/2003
- Aid C 54/01 - Companies with Foreign Income, Ireland (Harmful Measure: E 007) - OJ L 204/2003
- Aid C 45/01 - Headquarters and Logistic Centres, France (Harmful Measure: A 006) - OJ L 23/2004
- Aid C 53/01 - Gibraltar Qualifying Companies, UK (Harmful Measure: B 013) - OJ L 29/2005
- Aid C 30/02 - Tax Ruling for US Foreign Sales Corporations, Belgium (Harmful Measure: Z 001) - OJ L 23/2004
- Aid C 66/02 - Gibraltar Corporate Tax Reform, UK (Measure not examined by the Group but replacing the Exempt and Qualifying Companies schemes) - OJ L 85/2005
- Aid C 3/06 - Exempt Holdings and Billionaire Holdings, Luxembourg (Harmful Measure: A 013) - OJ L 366/2006
Guidance
- Commission Notice on the notion of State aid pursuant to Article 107(1) TFEU
- Working paper on state aid and tax rulings
- Commission Notice on the application of the State aid rules to measures relating to direct business taxation (repealed)
Related information
The Commission's work in the area of tax rulings was also closely followed by the European Parliament's Special Committee on Tax Rulings and Measures Similar in Nature or Effect ("the TAXE Committee").
Special Committee on Tax Rulings and Measures Similar in Nature or Effect (TAXE 1) report