BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The Luxembourg government said on Friday that it would appeal against the European Commission's decision ordering it to recover 20-30 million euros (£14.4 million - £21.6 million) of back taxes from Fiat Chrysler (MI:FCHA).
The Commission ruled in October that Fiat had benefited from illegal tax deals with the Luxembourg authorities, as well as Starbucks Corp (O:SBUX) with the Dutch. On Thursday, it also launched an investigation into tax deals between McDonald's (N:MCD) and Luxembourg.
The government said in a statement that it wanted legal clarity on the matter, adding that the vast majority of EU member states provided rulings for tax payers.
"In its decision, the Commission has used unprecedented criteria in establishing the alleged state aid, thus putting into jeopardy the principle of legal certainty," Luxembourg said, questioning whether Fiat had received a selective advantage.
"Luxembourg is strongly committed to tax transparency and the fight against harmful tax avoidance," it added.