Nearly 340 international companies including financial giants UBS, Deutsche Bank, and Credit Suisse signed secret tax deals with Luxembourg, leaked documents obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists show.
Billions of dollars were funnelled through the tiny European duchy of Luxembourg thanks to complex financial structures that allowed companies to slash their tax liabilities, depriving hard-up governments around the world of vital revenue, according to the documents leaked from accounting firm PwC.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
The leaked documents reviewed by ICIJ journalists include hundreds of private tax rulings – sometimes known as "comfort letters" – that Luxembourg provides to corporations seeking favorable tax treatment.
Big companies can book big tax savings by creating complicated accounting and legal structures that move profits to low-tax Luxembourg from higher-tax countries where they’re headquartered or do lots of business.
The ICIJ described the landlocked European duchy as a "magical fairyland", with some companies paying a tax rate of less than one percent on profits.
After the disclosure, Luxembourg’s government called an emergency press conference with Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData"These rulings, as they have been done in Luxembourg, are in line with international and national rules," Bettel told reporters in Luxembourg.
Gramegna added that the procedure "is not something that’s particular to Luxembourg. It exists in a lot of countries."
