Competition Commissioner [sic!] Margrethe Vestager called foul on a Belgian tax law the commission says unfairly saved 35 companies—most of them European—some €700 million ($763.3 million) in taxes since 2005. Belgium will now have to collect those taxes if it doesn’t appeal, or loses in court.
How terrible it is that a company should keep the money that belongs to its owners by following applicable sovereign law. For shame.
Here’s the thing, identified by the WSJ at the above link:
EU leaders and tax-happy populists are frustrated with slow political progress toward EU-wide, and maybe global, tax rules that would raise taxes on large companies. Ms Vestager thinks she’s found a way to push things along using antitrust law.
Indeed. Never mind that it isn’t the EU’s money. She and her EU government corporate cronies want it.