European Commission launched investigation against IKEA's tax evasion

The European Commission launched investigation into furniture trade chain IKEA and the taxes paid by the company. The suspicions are that the company received a non-competitive advantage from the Dutch authorities through tax breaks between 2006 and 2011. The investigation is part of the European Commission's measures against tax evasion practices applied by multinational companies in the community.
IKEA was founded in Sweden, but its headquarters are today in the Netherlands. The company has changed its business model and since the 1980s began to develop franchises. Thus, Iner IKEA does not actually own the shops, but receives a 3% tax on the revenue they make.
"All companies, small or large, multinational or not, must pay their share of taxes fairly", commented Competition Commissioner, Margrethe Vestager. "The EU countries can not choose companies to offer preferential terms", added she.
In February 2016, Green MEPs published a report that IKEA has avoided 1 billion EUR in taxes in Europe over the last six years. The company has achieved this through aggressive franchise structures, payments in Liechtenstein, and tax cuts in the Netherlands. The Greens handed this report to Margrethe Vestager.
If suspicions are proven, it will be the first "European scalp" of Vestager's belt, which has so far ruled on the unacceptable tax breaks for Apple and Amazon, as well as against Facebook and Google's unacceptable practices, which has earned the glory of disparaging US companies.