On 18 December 2017, the European Commission announced that it has opened an in-depth State aid investigation into the Netherlands' tax treatment of the Inter IKEA group, which operates the franchise business of IKEA using the "IKEA franchise concept". The Commission has concerns that two Dutch tax rulings may have allowed Inter IKEA to pay less tax and given them an unfair advantage over other companies, in breach of EU State aid rules.
Under the IKEA franchise concept, all IKEA shops worl…