On behalf of the association Ditaubi, on unfair tax competition by the Netherlands and other Member States 

The association to which the petitioner belongs complains of the spread of tax rulings, or advanced pricing agreements (APAs), by which multinational companies reach agreements with the tax authorities of a given country on how they will be taxed over a specific period of time in order to pay lower taxes.In particular, the signatories fear that tax havens may be created in some Member States, first and foremost the Netherlands, whereby multinationals do not pay taxes in the country(ies) in which earnings have been made. The signatories cite estimates of Dutch “tax dumping” to the detriment of other member states whereby the latter could lose up to EUR 9.2 billion in tax revenue, including estimated losses for Italy of EUR 1.38 billion. They call therefore for such tax rulings to be made illegal in the euro area and for heavy penalties to be imposed on non-compliant Member States, and for restitution of the incurred losses.