EU instructs EDF to refund €1.4bn to France
EDF has been ordered to pay a €1.4bn bill and the French state given a rap on the knuckles as the European Commission ruled that the government had granted the electricity company illegal tax breaks.
The Commission said that back in 1997, the Paris-based energy group received an individual, unjustified tax exemption of €889m that gave it an advantage to the detriment of its competitors.
“Whether private or public, large or small, any undertaking operating in the single market must pay its fair share of corporation tax,” said Margrethe Vestager, who took over as the EU’s competition policy chief last year.
It is the latest in a string of big-name state aid investigations by the EU’s competition authority, including into Apple’s dealings in Ireland, Starbucks in the Netherlands and those of a Fiat unit in Luxembourg.
Emmanuel Macron, French economy minister, said: “This is not something that will weaken the financial structure [of EDF].”
The group reported a full-year profit of €3.7bn last year and had a net financial debt of €34.2bn at the end of 2014.
If you’re an expat and wish to secure your pension, as part of deVere Group, the world’s leading independent international financial consultancy, deVere France can help you to save for a safe and secure retirement.
EDF has been ordered to pay a €1.4bn bill and the French state given a rap on the knuckles as the European Commission ruled that the government had granted the electricity company illegal tax breaks.
The Commission said that back in 1997, the Paris-based energy group received an individual, unjustified tax exemption of €889m that gave it an advantage to the detriment of its competitors.
“Whether private or public, large or small, any undertaking operating in the single market must pay its fair share of corporation tax,” said Margrethe Vestager, who took over as the EU’s competition policy chief last year.
It is the latest in a string of big-name state aid investigations by the EU’s competition authority, including into Apple’s dealings in Ireland, Starbucks in the Netherlands and those of a Fiat unit in Luxembourg.
Emmanuel Macron, French economy minister, said: “This is not something that will weaken the financial structure [of EDF].”
The group reported a full-year profit of €3.7bn last year and had a net financial debt of €34.2bn at the end of 2014.
If you’re an expat and wish to secure your pension, as part of deVere Group, the world’s leading independent international financial consultancy, deVere France can help you to save for a safe and secure retirement.