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A decision in the European Commission’s investigation into a controversial tax break for U.K.-based multinationals will be ready later this year, well before Britain’s scheduled March 2019 departure from the EU, said the people, who asked not to be named because the process isn’t public.
Forty-eight businesses, including Diageo Plc, Pearson Plc and Compass Group Plc, have warned of potential costs arising from the EU probe, more than in any prior state-aid investigation, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Tax.
Since 15 of those have estimated potential total exposure amounting to about 576 million pounds, the final figure for all those implicated could easily top the billion-pound mark. Some of the other firms have been advised to keep silent on the size of their exposure until the EU decision is published, according to one of the people.
None of the companies involved in the U.K. probe is accused of wrongdoing as the government’s tax system is the issue for regulators in Brussels. [...]