Washington responds to Johnson Controls’ inversion to Ireland
Inversions continue in the U.S., with Johnson Controls’ deal to merge with Ireland’s Tyco International being the latest example. The plan prompted one U.S. congressman to say it shows the urgent need for Congress to act against inversions. The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, separately, said his panel will work toward having a comprehensive international tax reform package ready in 2017. (more…)
Google executives recently defended the company’s tax settlement with the United Kingdom to a select committee of the British House of Commons.
The appearance before the panel followed news of a deal the company struck with the U.K. under which it will pay £130 million ($186 million) in back taxes. British tax authorities said the amount is over and above the tax that Google would have paid for past years (or would pay for the current period). (more…)
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has objected to the European Commission (EC) on the use of European Union (EU) state aid investigations as a way to retroactively tax earnings that rightfully belong to the United States.
Lew made the objections in a letter sent to EC President Jean-Claude Juncker. Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso denied any bias against U.S. multinational enterprises (MNEs), saying that EU law applies to all companies doing business in the EU. The letter came after a Treasury aide met with EU officials about the U.S. concerns. (more…)
