Helping the largest multinationals on the planet to evade taxes in their own country is not exactly like being smart about the fines taken at the wheel of a Panda. Yet, at least chronologically, there is a thread that unites the two events, ideally linking the most powerful men of Brussels and the Capitol.
The most striking case concerns Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission for a few days, who has come under attack because of the tax breaks enjoyed by hundreds of foreign companies in Luxembourg. The revelation was published yesterday by a pool of international newspapers (in Italy L'Espresso) after six months of investigations into tens of thousands of confidential documents.
The investigation concerns an alleged secret agreement between at least 300 companies and the government of the Grand Duchy, which granted them preferential tax treatment allowing them not to pay taxes in their respective countries of origin. Juncker would be one of the central figures of this agreement, having held the position of prime minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013.
Several politicians from various countries are now calling for the resignation of the president of the EU Commission, who for his part assures that he will facilitate the work of commissioner Margrethe Vestager, responsible for competition and therefore for this dossier, which envisages an investigation into alleged state aid .
Luxembourg's Finance Minister, Pierre Gramegna, reminded Brussels that the existing rules in Luxembourg make the activities disclosed yesterday "perfectly legal", but admitted that such practices are no longer considered "ethically compatible" and that Luxembourg "is not satisfied with this situation”.
Meanwhile, the mayor of Rome Ignazio Marino is also facing some requests for resignation. In his case, exorbitant sums are not at stake (just 640 euros), but the political credibility of the mayor is still called into question. The controversy was triggered by eight fines taken by Marino last summer with his red Panda, fines that were never paid and mysteriously suspended by the Municipality.
The disputed infringement, however, is always the same: entry without authorization into restricted traffic areas. A real joke for the mayor who has made the pedestrianization of the center of Rome one of his strong points. “Only a permit not renewed in time”, Marino defends himself, but there is also a parliamentary interpellation on the matter that puts his position at risk. According to the law, in fact, a mayor could not have pending disputes with the Municipality he leads, under penalty of forfeiture.
