PARIS: Engie SA, the French energy company, may have to return at least €300 million ($316.0 million) in unpaid taxes to Luxembourg if its tax arrangements are found to breach the European Union’s rules on illegal state aid, according to new details released Thursday.
The figure can be calculated from a nonconfidential version of the European Commission’s decision to investigate the government’s tax treatment of the French energy company.
The EU’s competition watchdog in September opened its investigation into Luxembourg’s tax arrangements with Engie, formerly known as GDF Suez, saying several tax rulings the government granted appeared to allow the company to reduce its tax bills on profits arising in the country.
The tax rulings, or so-called comfort letters sent by governments to multinational corporations to give clarity on how a specific tax will be calculated, may have constituted a tax advantage for Engie not available to other companies, the EU says.
