Juncker rejects tax probe

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has sought to blunt an early challenge to his leadership by rebutting allegations that he presided over sweetheart corporate tax deals during almost 19 years as prime minister of Luxembourg.

Juncker said he won’t interfere with a European Union probe of his country’s potentially unlawful tax breaks. The investigation may be widened after last week’s disclosures by a journalists’ group that Luxembourg helped more than 340 companies shave tax bills.

“I don’t understand how some papers can write Juncker vs Juncker,” he told reporters in Brussels.