Dutch Confident EU Starbucks Probe Won't Find Illegal State-Aid

By Robin van Daalen

AMSTERDAM--The Dutch government is convinced that its tax deal with Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) didn't constitute illegal State aid and that it didn't give the U.S. coffee chain a selective advantage, State Secretary of Finance Eric Wiebes said.

"Considering that the transfer prices of Starbucks Manufacturing BV are set in line with OECD principles, and the national legislation which is based on those, there is no question of a selective advantage for Starbucks," Mr. Wiebes wrote in a letter to parliament Friday, in response to details of a probe published by the European Commission.

He added that he's convinced the probe would ultimately conclude that the tax deal with Starbucks didn't constitute state-aid.

Earlier Friday, European Union regulators published a letter to the Dutch government explaining why they think a tax deal struck by Starbucks in the Netherlands may amount to illegal state aid in the next phase of an investigation that could lead to back tax payments.

The EU probe comes at a time when multinationals are facing heightened scrutiny on tax avoidance. Tax deals struck by Apple Inc. in Ireland and Amazon.com Inc. and Fiat SpA in Luxembourg are also under investigation by the EU.

Write to Robin van Daalen at [e-mail]

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