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'''Luxembourg Leaks''' (sometimes shortened to '''Lux Leaks''' or '''LuxLeaks''') is the name of a collaborative journalistic investigation, based on confidential tax agreements in Luxembourg, released in November 2014. 80 journalists from media organizations around the globe collaboratively reviewed 28,000 pages.<ref>ICIJ, </ref> '''Luxembourg Leaks''' (sometimes shortened to '''Lux Leaks''' or '''LuxLeaks''') is the name of a collaborative journalistic investigation, based on confidential tax agreements in Luxembourg, released in November 2014. 80 journalists from media organizations around the globe collaboratively reviewed 28,000 pages.<ref>ICIJ, </ref>


The investigation was orchestrated by the ''International Consortium of Investigative Journalists'', launched in 1997 by ], founded 1989. The organization partnered with CNBC (USA)<ref>CNBC (USA), , “In a partnership with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, CNBC was able to (…)”</ref>, CBC (Canada )<ref>CBC (Canada), , (..) “the tax-avoidance plan was obtained by the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and shared with CBC News”(…)</ref>, The Irish Times (Ireland) <ref>The Irish Times (Ireland), </ref>, Le Monde (France)<ref> Le Monde (France), , “Dans une enquête réalisée en partenariat avec le consortium de journalisme d'investigation ICIJ et quarante medias étrangers (The Guardian au Royaume-Uni, le Süddeutsche Zeitung en Allemagne, la télévision publique canadienne Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, l' Asahi Shimbun au Japon, etc.), Le Monde révèle les dessous du système fiscal luxembourgeois.”</ref>, Tagesanzeiger (Switzerland)<ref> Der Tagesanzeiger (Switzerland), </ref>, Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany)<ref>Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany), </ref>, Asahi Shimbun (Japan) <ref>Asahi Shimbun (Japan), </ref> and many others. All documents are available online in a searchable database categorized by industry and cooperation published by the ICIJ<ref>ICIJ, </ref> and by other websites.<ref>, linked e.g. by The Irish Times, </ref> The leaked documents document tax rulings between Luxembourg and companies such as Pepsi, Ikea, Accenture, Burberry, Procter & Gamble, Heinz, JP Morgan, FedEx, Abbott Laboratories, Amazon, Deutsche Bank, the Australian financial group Macquarie, Shire, Icap, Dyson.<ref name=Guardian/> The investigation was made by the ''International Consortium of Investigative Journalists'', launched in 1997 by ], founded 1989. The organization partnered with CNBC (USA)<ref>CNBC (USA), , “In a partnership with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, CNBC was able to (…)”</ref>, CBC (Canada )<ref>CBC (Canada), , (..) “the tax-avoidance plan was obtained by the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and shared with CBC News”(…)</ref>, The Irish Times (Ireland) <ref>The Irish Times (Ireland), </ref>, Le Monde (France)<ref> Le Monde (France), , “Dans une enquête réalisée en partenariat avec le consortium de journalisme d'investigation ICIJ et quarante medias étrangers (The Guardian au Royaume-Uni, le Süddeutsche Zeitung en Allemagne, la télévision publique canadienne Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, l' Asahi Shimbun au Japon, etc.), Le Monde révèle les dessous du système fiscal luxembourgeois.”</ref>, Tagesanzeiger (Switzerland)<ref> Der Tagesanzeiger (Switzerland), </ref>, Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany)<ref>Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany), </ref>, Asahi Shimbun (Japan) <ref>Asahi Shimbun (Japan), </ref> and many others. All documents are available online in a searchable database categorized by industry and cooperation published by the ICIJ<ref>ICIJ, </ref> and by other websites.<ref>, linked e.g. by The Irish Times, </ref> The leaked documents document tax rulings between Luxembourg and companies such as Pepsi, Ikea, Accenture, Burberry, Procter & Gamble, Heinz, JP Morgan, FedEx, Abbott Laboratories, Amazon, Deutsche Bank, the Australian financial group Macquarie, Shire, Icap, Dyson.<ref name=Guardian/
⚫ The tax rulings were made for many corporations negotiated by ] with the Luxembourg government.<ref>http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/luxembourg-leaks-controversy-a-game-changer-1.1992650</ref> More than 340 companies worldwide used this method to reduce tax payments.<ref name=Guardian>{{cite web|title=Luxembourg tax files: how tiny state rubber-stamped tax avoidance on an industrial scale|url=http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/nov/05/-sp-luxembourg-tax-files-tax-avoidance-industrial-scale|website=The Guardian|accessdate=12 November 2014}}</ref> Foreign corporations started coming to Luxembourg in large numbers in the early 1990s, when Luxembourg adopted an EU directive that allowed companies to pay taxes in a European headquarters country other than where their subsidiaries operated.<ref>Wall Street Journal, 21 October, 2014</ref>


⚫ There have been no allegations that the deals were illegal under the law of Luxembourg.<ref name=Guardian/> The European commission has started an examination of two cases: The tax rulings between the tax authorities of Luxemburg and Amazon and Fiat finance may be illegal subsidies and thus violate EU rules on state aid. Some months prior to the leak Luxembourg refused to provide the EU with information about its tax rulings.<ref> European Commission, press release, , 7 October 2014</ref><ref>Global Policy Forum, , November 6, 2014</ref> The rulings have attracted international attention.<ref> "Carr, Wayne and Kelly (2014) ‘Lux Leaks’ Revelations Bring Swift Response Around World", November 6, 2014, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists </ref>
⚫ The tax rulings were negotiated on behalf of numerous multinational corporations by ] and the Luxembourg government.<ref>http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/luxembourg-leaks-controversy-a-game-changer-1.1992650</ref> More than 340 companies worldwide used this method of ] through company-internal transactions, often ending up paying far less than 1% tax on corporate profits to Luxembourg, which would otherwise have been taxed at much higher rates in the countries were the actual economic activity occurred.<ref name=Guardian>{{cite web|title=Luxembourg tax files: how tiny state rubber-stamped tax avoidance on an industrial scale|url=http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/nov/05/-sp-luxembourg-tax-files-tax-avoidance-industrial-scale|website=The Guardian|accessdate=12 November 2014}}</ref> Foreign corporations started coming to Luxembourg in large numbers in the early 1990s, when Luxembourg adopted an EU directive that allowed companies to pay taxes in a European headquarters country rather than where their other subsidiaries operated. An advantage was that in Luxembourg it often took one meeting for advance approval from a responsible official, while in most European countries getting a tax ruling is a lengthy process.<ref>Wall Street Journal, 21 October, 2014</ref>


⚫ There have been no allegations that the deals were illegal under the law of Luxembourg.<ref name=Guardian/> The tax rulings may, however, violate national laws outside Luxembourg, where the companies have their headquarters. The European commission has started an examination of two cases: The tax rulings between the tax authorities of Luxemburg and Amazon and Fiat finance may be illegal subsidies and thus violate EU rules on state aid. Some months prior to the leak Luxembourg refused to provide the EU with information about its tax rulings.<ref> European Commission, press release, , 7 October 2014</ref><ref>Global Policy Forum, , November 6, 2014</ref> The scale of the deals nurtured a scandal which reached media and politicians around the globe.<ref> "Carr, Wayne and Kelly (2014) ‘Lux Leaks’ Revelations Bring Swift Response Around World", November 6, 2014, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists </ref>

It has been noted that the newly-installed President of the European Commission (at the time of the leak), ], is the very person who served as prime minister of Luxembourg during the time when many of the alleged deals were being set up. Shortly prior to the leaks, Juncker in a speech in Brussels in July 2014 promised to "try to put some morality, some ethics, into the European tax landscape".<ref name=Guardian/>
In November 2014 Juncker defended his actions referring to both the efforts on the automatic exchange of information (AEoI) (covered as part of the ]) and the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) (), as reported in an article in the Irish Times.<ref>"Mr Juncker yesterday underlined the Commission’s commitment to fighting tax evasion and avoidance, pledging to introduce automatic exchange of information rules for tax rulings offered by countries, and vowing to progress legislation on the controversial Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base ." Lynch, Suzanne: "Juncker insists he acted within law on ‘Lux leaks’ agreements", Irish Times, 13 Nov. 2014 </ref>


Most of the leaked tax rulings were negotiated and approved by a single civil servant.<ref>Süddeutsche Zeitung, , 6 November 2014</ref><ref>Norddeutscher Rundfunk, , 6 November 2014</ref><ref>, Wall Street Journal, 21 October 2014</ref> Most of the leaked tax rulings were negotiated and approved by a single civil servant.<ref>Süddeutsche Zeitung, , 6 November 2014</ref><ref>Norddeutscher Rundfunk, , 6 November 2014</ref><ref>, Wall Street Journal, 21 October 2014</ref>

Revision as of 21:58, 14 November 2014

Luxembourg Leaks (sometimes shortened to Lux Leaks or LuxLeaks) is the name of a collaborative journalistic investigation, based on confidential tax agreements in Luxembourg, released in November 2014. 80 journalists from media organizations around the globe collaboratively reviewed 28,000 pages.

The investigation was made by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, launched in 1997 by Center for Public Integrity, founded 1989. The organization partnered with CNBC (USA), CBC (Canada ), The Irish Times (Ireland) , Le Monde (France), Tagesanzeiger (Switzerland), Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany), Asahi Shimbun (Japan) and many others. All documents are available online in a searchable database categorized by industry and cooperation published by the ICIJ and by other websites. The leaked documents document tax rulings between Luxembourg and companies such as Pepsi, Ikea, Accenture, Burberry, Procter & Gamble, Heinz, JP Morgan, FedEx, Abbott Laboratories, Amazon, Deutsche Bank, the Australian financial group Macquarie, Shire, Icap, Dyson.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). More than 340 companies worldwide used this method to reduce tax payments. Foreign corporations started coming to Luxembourg in large numbers in the early 1990s, when Luxembourg adopted an EU directive that allowed companies to pay taxes in a European headquarters country other than where their subsidiaries operated.

There have been no allegations that the deals were illegal under the law of Luxembourg. The European commission has started an examination of two cases: The tax rulings between the tax authorities of Luxemburg and Amazon and Fiat finance may be illegal subsidies and thus violate EU rules on state aid. Some months prior to the leak Luxembourg refused to provide the EU with information about its tax rulings. The rulings have attracted international attention.


Most of the leaked tax rulings were negotiated and approved by a single civil servant.

See also

External links

References

  1. ICIJ, Luxembourg Leaks Stories Around the World
  2. CNBC (USA), Taxes, multinational firms & Luxembourg—revealed, “In a partnership with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, CNBC was able to (…)”
  3. CBC (Canada), Federal pension board used offshore 'scheme' to skirt foreign taxes, (..) “the tax-avoidance plan was obtained by the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and shared with CBC News”(…)
  4. The Irish Times (Ireland), Northern and Shell used west Dublin address to cut Luxembourg tax bill on €1bn
  5. Le Monde (France), Le Luxembourg, plaque tournante de l’évasion fiscal, “Dans une enquête réalisée en partenariat avec le consortium de journalisme d'investigation ICIJ et quarante medias étrangers (The Guardian au Royaume-Uni, le Süddeutsche Zeitung en Allemagne, la télévision publique canadienne Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, l' Asahi Shimbun au Japon, etc.), Le Monde révèle les dessous du système fiscal luxembourgeois.”
  6. Der Tagesanzeiger (Switzerland), Luxemburgs Milliardenrabatte für Grosskonzerne
  7. Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany), Konzerne ertricksen sich in Luxemburg Milliarden an Steuern
  8. Asahi Shimbun (Japan),
  9. ICIJ, Explore the Documents: Luxembourg Leaks Database
  10. Luxembourg Leaks – search the documents, linked e.g. by The Irish Times, Lux Leaks
  11. ^ "Luxembourg tax files: how tiny state rubber-stamped tax avoidance on an industrial scale". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  12. Wall Street Journal, 21 October, 2014
  13. European Commission, press release, State aid: Commission investigates transfer pricing arrangements on corporate taxation of Amazon in Luxembourg, 7 October 2014
  14. Global Policy Forum, Luxembourg Leaks: Secret Tax Deals of Multinationals Exposed, November 6, 2014
  15. "Carr, Wayne and Kelly (2014) ‘Lux Leaks’ Revelations Bring Swift Response Around World", November 6, 2014, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
  16. Süddeutsche Zeitung, Ärger im Steuer-Märchenland, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 6 November 2014
  17. Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Deutsche Bank: Gewinne fließen um den Globus, 6 November 2014
  18. Business-Friendly Bureaucrat Helped Build Tax Haven in Luxembourg, Wall Street Journal, 21 October 2014
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