New York, N.Y., August 24, 2016 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which champions the global interests of American companies, welcomed the U.S. Treasury’s white paper criticizing the European Commission’s ongoing state aid investigations. The investigations are aimed at recouping prior-year tax benefits freely granted by European Union member state tax authorities on companies’ global operations.
“We wholeheartedly agree with the Treasury’s conclusion that these tax investigations challenge EU member state tax sovereignty, go far beyond accepted practice and threaten to undermine ongoing efforts to strengthen international tax cooperation,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson. “USCIB is concerned that these moves by the EU could dramatically undercut the OECD’s efforts to build a new and stable international consensus.”
After three years of negotiations, the OECD/G20 project on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) designed to address corporate tax avoidance concluded last year with governments developing a framework for modernizing international tax rules.
In a blog post accompanying the release of the white paper, Robert Stack, deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for international tax affairs, wrote: “These investigations have major implications for the United States. In particular, recoveries imposed by the Commission would have an outsized impact on U.S. companies. … The investigations have global implications as well for the international tax system and the G20’s agenda to combat BEPS while improving tax certainty to fuel growth and investment.
Implementation of the BEPS project was a major focus of USCIB’s most recent OECD International Tax Conference, held last June in Washington, D.C. USCIB provides American business input to the OECD’s work on global tax policy through its role as the U.S. member of BIAC, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD.
About USCIB:
USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence. Its members include U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world. With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including BIAC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More information is available at www.uscib.org.
Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, VP Communications, USCIB
+1 212.7035043 or jhuneke@uscib.org
