US accuses EU of grabbing tax revenues with Apple decision

The EU executive this week retroactively scrapped a tax deal Apple had with Ireland, arguing the technology giant was effectively paying a tax rate of a fraction of 1 percent on its profits.

"I have been concerned that it reflected an attempt to reach in to the U.S. tax base to tax income that ought to be taxed in the United States," U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Wednesday at an event to discuss Washington's position ahead of a meeting of the Group of 20 industrial nations in China next week.

The Apple row is the latest spat between Brussels and Washington over company regulation. Earlier this month, the Treasury issued a detailed legal argument that the EU Commission's approach went against European laws.

Lew said making Apple pay higher taxes in Ireland could let the company deduct those payments from what it owes to the United States, reducing U.S. tax revenues.

The European Commission rulings appeared to be highly focused on U.S. companies, Lew said.

"We think that it undermines the environment in Europe for international business because it creates uncertainty that ultimately will not be good for the European economy," Lew said at an event hosted by the Brookings Institution in Washington.

For now, other U.S. companies under scrutiny for their EU tax arrangements are staying in the background as Lew, Apple and certain industry trade groups lead the charge against the European Union action.