McDonald's Faces Antitrust Complaint In Europe
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) has been accused of abusing its dominant market position by imposing illegal terms on people operating franchise restaurants in Europe.
Three Italian consumer groups filed an antitrust complaint with the European Union accusing that the company forces franchisees to pay excessive rents and high fees - which get passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
The complaint is reportedly supported by U.S. and European trade unions.
The complaint comes a month after EU regulators opened a full-blown investigation into McDonald's tax affairs in Luxembourg, as part of a widening inquiry into unfair tax sweeteners for multinationals. The unions claimed that the company had avoided about 1 billion euros in taxes by funneling royalties to Luxembourg.
The European Commission reportedly said it had received the complaint and would look into it. It may decide to open a full investigation after inspecting the evidence, or drop the case. Companies found guilty of violating EU antitrust law face fines of up to 10% of their global revenue.
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