Politico: EU Mulls Retaliation over Trump Tax Overhaul

European countries may fight back against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul by arguing that it breaches World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, finance ministers said Tuesday.

Their tough rhetoric came after the ministers gathered in Brussels to discuss a response to the U.S. reform, which many Europeans say unfairly favors American trade interests over their own.

In total, American tech companies hold more than $2.6 trillion of combined assets overseas, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a research group.

Rather than try to compete with low-tax regimes, many EU states that are only just emerging from a growth slump hoped to keep their welfare models afloat by increasing the amount they take from global companies — particularly tech giants that have become some of the most valuable firms anywhere in the world. Read more

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