Brussels, 17 October 2024
Thursday’s discussion was the first occasion for an in-depth discussion of the landmark judgement which found that Ireland’s tax arrangements with Apple in fact amounted to illegal state aid.
Ms Vestager opened the discussion by saying that the result was good news for citizens and for the level playing field in the internal market. She praised the European Parliament’s “unwavering support” for the Commission’s position which, she said, was very important for allowing the EU executive to press on with the legal court case. Ms Vestager also commended the work of journalists over these last years who have repeatedly exposed tax avoidance and tax evasion.
The main takeaways from the case, Ms Vestager said were that tax rulings must still conform to state aid rules for them to be considered legal and that the key issue is now to identify where value can be taxed.
MEPs then quizzed Commissioner Vestager on how best to address the fiscal aspects of the growth of e-commerce, the best ways to ensure that business is taxed where it takes place, and how to put a financial value on the production of data. Some also stressed the need to not lose sight of the financial subsidies and their distortive effects, which continue to be used copiously, particularly by three large member states. Finally, there was also a call for an EU tax haven list to be established.
Earlier in the day MEPs heard from experts on tax simplification and transparency. You can find all the presentations from the invited experts here.
You can listen to the hearing again here (click play for the hearing on simplification and transparency and scroll to 10h39 for the hearing of Commissionner Vestager).