Belgium and EU competition regulators on Wednesday faced off again in Europe’s second-highest court on whether Belgium’s 700-million euro ($750 million) tax scheme for Magnetrol, BP and 33 other multinationals was illegal state aid.
The European Commission in 2016 ordered Belgium to recover the money from the companies that benefited from the scheme, one of several high-profile cases in a crackdown on sweetheart tax deals between EU countries and multinationals.
Belgium won the first round of its fight in a lower tribunal, which annulled the Commission’s ruling in 2019. But Europe’s top court backed the EU regulator and referred the case back to the General Court.
Related: EU: Tax ruling may force companies to leave Belgium
Ireland had also won the first stage of its court fight against an order to recover some 13 billion euros from Apple in 2016.
EU nations caught in the tax crackdown received a boost last year when the top EU court backed Fiat Chrysler in its fight against the regulator’s order to pay 30 million euros in back taxes to Luxembourg.
Belgium on Wednesday brandished the Fiat ruling in its arguments to the General Court.
“The Commission wrongly identified the reference framework in breach of the method clearly set out in the Fiat judgment, namely the determination of the reference framework must follow from the examination of the content and specific effects of rules under the national laws of that state,” Belgium’s lawyer Marianne Clayton said.
Featured News
FTC Urged to Enforce Rarely Used Antitrust Law Against Retail Giants
Mar 28, 2024 by
CPI
UK’s Fingleton Bolsters Team with New Additions
Mar 28, 2024 by
CPI
Britain’s Competition Regulator Clears Aviva’s Acquisition of AIG Life UK
Mar 28, 2024 by
CPI
White House Implements New AI Safeguards to Protect Rights and Safety
Mar 28, 2024 by
CPI
Denver Court Sets August Date for Kroger-Albertsons Merger Showdown
Mar 28, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Real Estate & Antitrust
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
Systematic National Evidence of Steering by Real Estate Agents
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
Compliance Now! Actionable Antitrust Advice for the Residential Real Estate Industry
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
Real Estate Commissions: Some Insights from the Economics of Multi-Sided Platforms
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
New Ideas for Promoting Real Estate Brokerage Price Competition
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI