France has this week joined Denmark and Poland in blocking firms registered in offshore tax havens from claiming aid from its government coronavirus bailout.
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire announced today that companies either registered, or controlling subsidiaries, in tax havens are ineligible for the 110 billion euros ($108 billion) rescue package.
“It goes without saying that if a company has its tax headquarters or subsidiaries in a tax haven, I want to say with great force, it will not be able to benefit from state financial aid,” Le Maire told the France Info radio station.
“There are rules that must be followed. If you have benefited from the state treasury, you cannot pay dividends and you cannot buy back shares,” he said.
“And if your head office is located in a tax haven, it is obvious that you cannot benefit from public support.”
France is the third country to enforce such a measure amid the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus crisis.
On April 8, the prime minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, said that large companies wanting a chunk of his government’s roughly $6 billion bailout fund must pay domestic business taxes.
“Let’s end tax havens, which are the bane of modern economies,” he said.
Denmark followed suit on Saturday. “Companies based on tax havens in accordance with EU guidelines cannot receive compensation,” a statement from the country’s finance ministry read.
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