US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew accused the European Union of disruption of corporate taxation in the USA, providing as an example the recent decision to recover debt penalty, amounting to 13 billion euros, from Apple, according to Prime materials. 

As per results of the investigation, the European Commission concluded that Ireland provided unjustified tax benefits to Apple, as the result of which the country did not receive EUR 13 billion.

“The innovations in the European Commission’s approach to own investigations lead to unfair demanding backdated fines, which does not comply with established legal principles, brings into question the tax rules of separate countries and threatens to disrupt business climate in Europe in total. For US taxpayers, the actions of the European Commission menace to erode tax base of corporations in the USA”, Lew writes in the article for Wall Street Journal, published in edition’s site.

“US companies can request discount for foreign taxation in their US tax declarations”, Lew explained. He also stated that Congress deputies, businesspersons and professional of US tax market “widely denounced” the EU decision.

According to Lew, as a result, the reform of corporate taxation, which the Executive Office of President Barak Obama attempts to implement, becomes more necessary. The reform stipulates lower one-time payments of companies, which will agree to return the profit, made abroad, to US territory.

“Our current tax code contains multiple lacunas, which permit corporations to artificially lower tax payments, transferring revenues of countries with higher taxation to jurisdictions, where the taxation is lower or absent”, Lew explained. “In combination with higher corporate tax rate in the USA, our complex taxation system of transnational corporations and ageing infrastructure contribute to and help eroding tax base and make USA more attractive for business”, US Treasury Secretary concluded.