Irish tax is back in the EU focus

EU states could have lost €5.4bn in tax revenues from Google and Facebook between 2013 and 2015, according to a report of the EU politician responsible for a corporate tax reform that could raise the tax bill for online mega companies.

The document, seen by Reuters, will be published later today, the day before EU finance ministers begin a two-day meeting in the Estonian capital Tallinn, in which they will discuss how to increase taxes on large online businesses accused of paying too little in Europe.

Digital multinationals “minimise the overall tax burden in the EU by routing all revenues to low-tax member states such as Ireland and Luxembourg,” said the report, prepared by socialist MEP Paul Tang.