news/AAPL/2023.02.08/Belgium, EU competition regulators spar again on $750 mln tax breaks.txt

LUXEMBOURG, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Belgium and EU competition
regulators on Wednesday faced off again in Europe's
second-highest court on whether Belgium's 700-million euro ($750
million) tax scheme for Magnetrol, BP and 33 other
multinationals was illegal state aid.The European Commission in 2016 ordered Belgium to recover
the money from the companies that benefited from the scheme, one
of several high-profile cases in a crackdown on sweetheart tax
deals between EU countries and multinationals.Belgium won the first round of its fight in a lower
tribunal, which annulled the Commission's ruling in 2019. But
Europe's top court backed the EU regulator and referred the case
back to the General Court.Ireland had also won the first stage of its court fight
against an order to recover some 13 billion euros from Apple
in 2016.EU nations caught in the tax crackdown received a boost
last year when the top EU court backed Fiat Chrysler in its
fight against the regulator's order to pay 30 million euros in
back taxes to Luxembourg.Belgium on Wednesday brandished the Fiat ruling in its
arguments to the General Court."The Commission wrongly identified the reference framework
in breach of the method clearly set out in the Fiat judgment,
namely the determination of the reference framework must follow
from the examination of the content and specific effects of
rules under the national laws of that state," Belgium's lawyer
Marianne Clayton said.She said the Commission also erred as it did not examine
separately the issues of advantage and selectivity, and if this
was granted to the companies.Ireland's lawyer Paul Gallagher said the Commission's
approach was technically flawed and breached the EU treaty and
national sovereignty.Commission lawyer Paul John Loewenthal said it was clear
that the scheme offered tax breaks to multinationals, with
Belgium widely advertising the measure."Multinationals are given tax breaks if they bring jobs and
investment," he told the court, citing the Belgian finance
ministry's advertisement.The court will hear arguments from some of the companies on
Thursday and next week. The case is T-131/16 RENV.($1 = 0.9308 euros)
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Arun Koyyur)