European Commission to investigate Huhtamaki tax treatment in Luxembourg
HUHTAMÄKI OYJ PRESS RELEASE 7.3.2019 AT 14:05 EET
European Commission to investigate Huhtamaki tax treatment in Luxembourg
The European Commission announced today that it will open an investigation into Luxembourg's tax practices, in particular Huhtamaki tax rulings from the years 2009, 2012 and 2013. The investigation is not targeted at Huhtamaki and Huhtamaki has not been approached by the European Commission.
The European Commission is investigating whether the tax ruling could potentially be considered as prohibited state aid by Luxembourg. State aid means that a public authority has granted a selective (not available for everyone) competitive advantage to a company in Europe. The European Commission has opened several similar investigations involving tax treatment of large multinational companies.
The investigation is linked to Luxembourg tax rulings which have been under public scrutiny by International Consortium of Investigating Journalists (ICIJ) and others after so-called "Luxleaks" in 2014.
Huhtamaki has not been approached by the European Commission in this regard. Huhtamaki monitors the situation and will cooperate with authorities if requested. Huhtamaki complies with all laws and regulations and it is important for Huhtamaki to secure predictability in financial and tax affairs. The structure in question is legal and approved by tax authorities, and was not set up to gain unfair competitive advantage in Europe.
Since 2010 Huhtamaki has invested over EUR 500 million to expand its North American business. These tax rulings are related to internal funding of this expansion.
For further information, please contact:
Jukka Moisio, CEO, tel. +358 10 686 7801
Katariina Hietaranta, Head of IR and Financial Communications, tel. +358 10 686 7863
Huhtamaki is a global specialist in packaging for food and drink. With our network of 77 manufacturing units and additional 24 sales only offices in altogether 34 countries, we're well placed to support our customers' growth wherever they operate. Mastering three distinctive packaging technologies, approximately 17,700 employees develop and make packaging that helps great products reach more people, more easily. In 2018, our net sales totaled EUR 3.1 billion. The Group has its head office in Espoo, Finland and the parent company Huhtamäki Oyj is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. Additional information is available at www.huhtamaki.com.