Parliament to be briefed on Starbucks tax deal

The Tweede Kamer (lower house of parliament) will receive a confidential and technical briefing on the agreements made between the tax authorities and the United States coffee chain Starbucks, Secretary of State Eric Wiebes (Finance) promised today. The Tweede Kamer asked the State Secretary about it on the initiative of GroenLinks Parliamentarian Jesse Klaver, NU reports. Wiebes was against it because the deal with Starbucks is already being investigated by the European Commission. The European Commission suspects that prohibited state aid may be involved in the deal. The State Secretary now states that so much has been made public on this case that pragmatism will win out above his principles. In his briefing he will give the Tweede Kamer "a full, clear and transparent image" of the tax agreements with Starbucks. Klaver is pleased with the commitment, NU reports. "Large multinationals use Dutch tax incentives to evade billions of tax. But because the agreements that such companies make with the tax authorities are secret, little is known about the precise structures. It is not for nothing that the European Commission suspects the Netherlands of unlawful state aid. It is therefore important for the fight against the tax advantages of multinational companies that the Kamer gets insight into these agreements."