Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s antitrust chief, got a belated boost in her bid to force Belgium to claw back about €800 million (US$942 million) in tax breaks from dozens of companies including Anheuser-BuschInBev, reported Bloomberg.
The EU Court of Justice ruled on Thursday, September 16, that the European Commission in 2016 “correctly found that there was an aid scheme.” Judges decided to send the case back to a lower EU tribunal for a re-examination.
Vestager has had a mixed record in court cases linked to her tax crackdown. Last year, she suffered her most stinging defeat to date when the EU’s lower court annulled her order for Apple to repay Ireland €13 billion. Crucially for the European Commission, judges have so far rejected arguments that the EU regulator is overstepping its powers in hunting down tax dodging.
In their initial challenge, Belgium and the companies accused the Commission of misusing its powers by taking an “entirely novel” approach to State aid law and retroactively prohibiting EU nations’ tax practices.
The EU’s lower court in 2019 annulled the Commission’s first decision in the Belgian case, saying it should have looked at each company’s tax break on its own merits rather than as a group. The Commission in 2019 opened a new probe that is still pending, this time into Belgian tax deals for 39 companies.
The EU watchdog stated it “will carefully study today’s judgment and assess its implications including on the 39 formal investigations it opened in September 2019 into the individual ‘excess profit’ rulings,” according to an emailed statement.
Belgium’s finance ministry stated it’s also carefully studying the judgment to determine the next steps.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
T-Mobile’s Acquisition of Ka’ena Corporation Receives FCC Approval
Apr 26, 2024 by
CPI
UK Regulator Announces Two New Senior Executive Appointments
Apr 26, 2024 by
CPI
Paramount Global and Skydance Media Near Merger Deal, Eyeing CEO Change
Apr 26, 2024 by
CPI
BHP Unveils £31bn Mining Megamerger Proposal with Anglo American
Apr 25, 2024 by
nhoch@pymnts.com
ByteDance Prefers Shutdown Over Sale of TikTok Amid US Ban Threats
Apr 25, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI