Business European Union Will Investigate IKEA Taxes

The EU Commission will open an in-depth investigation into the corporate tax structure of IKEA, a leading furniture retailer and furniture from Sweden.

One of the Ikea divisions in the Netherlands, the Inter IKEA, is suspected of obtaining unfair tax benefits in the Land of the Windmill.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager says all companies, large or small, multinational or national, must pay taxes fairly. The EU will see whether Ikea tax collides with EU rules.

Under EU law, member states can not provide certain tax benefits to multinational corporations not provided to other companies.

"The Commission has considered that taxation (the Netherlands) has benefited Inter Ikea Systems compared to other companies," the EU Commission wrote in a statement.

This step is the latest done by the EU's competition authorities regarding the tax agreements between EU countries and multinational corporations.

As for the Inter Ikea Group states, the amount of taxes charged has been in accordance with the rules of the European Union.

"It is very good if the investigation can provide clarity and confirmation," said a spokesman for Inter Ikea Group.

The EU Commission's investigation on Ikea will focus on two tax agreements between the Netherlands and Inter Ikea. Allegedly, there is a decrease in tax-related income in the Netherlands.

Inter Ikea operates the Ikea franchise business in the Netherlands. The EU Commission stated that in 2006 Inter Ikea may pay license fees to other Ikea units in Luxembourg, thereby transfers to tax-free countries.

Then in 2011, Inter Ikea made a second tax deal with the Netherlands related to a loan with IKEA's unit in Liechtenstein, allowing IKEA to move its profit to a low-tax country.

Grab Launches in Cambodia, Go-Jek Prepares to Enter the Philippines

The technology company of Grab transport service provider officially operates in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This is Grab's effort to sharpen its existence in the midst of increasingly fierce competition in Southeast Asia.

Quoting Tech in Asia, Tuesday (12/19/2017), citizens of the capital city of Cambodia is now able to easily travel with JustGrab, a service with a standard tariff. Starting today, the Grab app is now available for download on Android and iOS in Cambodia.

Grab also partnered with Wing Money to present a financial services account for its driver partners in Cambodia. This collaboration is similar to what Grab does with Wave Money in Myanmar, which helps driver partners manage their earnings using electronic wallets.

Competition between three technology service providers in Southeast Asia transport services is increasingly tight. Google and Temasek said the industry valuation reached 5.1 billion US dollars and will increase fourfold in eight years.

Uber, which operates in Cambodia since September 2017, is behind its competitors, Grab and Go-Jek.

Recently, Uber signed a partnership with Singapore taxi company ComfortDelGro worth 474 million US dollars.

Go-Jek has just acquired a number of pioneering financial technology companies. The goal is to expand the services in the field of finance and e-commerce.

Go-Jek Technology Director Ajay Gore said Go-Jek will operate in the Philippines in 2018. This is Go-Jek's first expansion outside of Indonesia.

In his official statement, Grab also said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Public Works and Transport Cambodia. This cooperation is intended to support infrastructure development in the country.

"We greatly appreciate Grab who is a leading company in Southeast Asia in ensuring that transportation is accessible to everyone and bringing Southeast Asia to the digital economy," Cambodian Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol said.

Hotel and Properties 4 and 5 Star Hotels Still Rule Bali

The growth of hotel budget supply in Bali is relatively stagnant. Until the end of the first quarter of this year, there is no addition of new hotels on the Island of the Gods.

Senior Associate Director of Research of Colliers International Indonesia Ferry Salanto explains, stagnation of budget hotel growth because developers prefer to build four and five star hotels.

"Until now, the total budget hotel room available is still 3,258 rooms from 29 hotels," Ferry said in a discussion in Jakarta, Monday (07/11/2017).

Until 2019, the estimated number of four and five star hotels will still continue to grow.

In the second quarter of 2017 alone, there are four new four-star hotels in operation.

In addition, the number of 3, 4 and 5 star hotels operating in Bali reached 522 hotels with 54,757 rooms.

There are also details, 15,730 rooms from 217 three star hotels, 22,494 rooms from 183 four star hotels, and 19,038 rooms from 122 five star hotels.

Tourists Rise

Meanwhile, the number of tourists who will stay at the hotel is expected to continue to rise. Tourists from China still dominate the number of tourists visiting Bali.

Bali Tourism Office even shows the growth of Chinese tourists until the end of April 2017 by 61.8 percent compared to the previous year, to 511,773 people.

Along with that, a number of international flights to Bali are planned to be opened.

"Qantas and Garuda Indonesia plan to add flights to attract Australian tourists and Qatar Airways and Emirates are also planning to add flight routes to Bali in the third quarter of this year," Ferry said.