CBJ — Several international unions have filed a complaint accusing Chevron Corp. of funneling billions of euros through letter box companies in the Netherlands to avoid taxation.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation and Public Services International put forth the complaint with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in The Hague.

It is uncertain as to why Chevron has been singled out in this particular instance given that it is widely known there are many multinational corporations that make use of the Netherlands to shift dividends, interest and royalties untaxed through Dutch shell companies to tax havens overseas.

While there are arguments over the legalities of what is at play here, it is definitely a grey area at best, given that the Netherlands has tax treaties with about 100 countries, which can make for extremely difficult accurate reporting in such a complex setup.

Chevron has not yet formally responded to the allegations.

@CanBizJournal