Juncker’s tax deals with Amazon and McDonald’s

EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker faces embarrassment over sweetheart tax deals signed by Luxembourg with Amazon and McDonald’s when he was prime minister.

The EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said she was going after the online retailer and fast-food chain next after slapping Apple with an £11billion tax bill.

The investigations are awkward for Mr Juncker, the European Commission president. He was prime minister of Luxembourg for 19 years until 2013.

McDonald’s is accused of avoiding 1billion euros (£850million) in tax from 2009 to 2013 by routing revenue from across Europe through Luxembourg, where it is claimed it was given a special deal to lower its tax rate.

Amazon faces similar claims that it lowered its tax bill by making sales to European customers through an arm of the company in Luxembourg. In 2014, the online retailer’s UK business paid £11.9million in tax on £5.3billion of sales to British shoppers. McDonald’s and Amazon both deny any wrongdoing.

Mr Juncker, 61, has repeatedly claimed any decisions related to the tax arrangements of large companies during his time in office were ‘strictly a matter for the tax

‘If you have problems I’ll try to help’

administration’. But last month secret files revealed he met four senior tax officials from Amazon in 2003, which critics said could be evidence he was marketing Luxembourg as a haven for tax avoidance. Bob Comfort, the former head of tax for Amazon, has claimed Mr Juncker fiercely courted the US giant and offered to ‘help solve problems’.

Months after arriving in Luxembourg in 2003, Amazon secured a confidential deal from the local tax office.

Recalling the meeting with Mr Juncker, Mr Comfort said: ‘His message was simply: “If you encounter problems which you don’t seem to be able to resolve, please come back and tell me. I’ll try to help.”’

Mr Juncker has faced repeated calls to resign the presidency because of his links to tax avoidance. Just as he took up the role in 2014, documents revealed in the ‘LuxLeaks’ scandal showed the country had helped 340 global firms to minimise tax payments.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has described the European commission’s decision to order Apple to pay £11billion in back tax to Dublin as bizarre and suggested the Irish government should politely tell the European Union to ‘f*** off’ . The EU ruled on Tuesday that Ireland had provided illegal state aid by allowing the US firm to pay very little tax. Mr O’ Leary said: ‘One of the fundamental principles of the European Union is that each country has its autonomy to make its own tax decisions.’