Apple faces multibillion EU tax bill

[Deleted]

For people who think that those living on welfare are the real tax problem, I present to you the actual problem: Multi-billion dollar companies evading tax.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/29/12...egal-eu-ruling

"an estimate of up to $19 billion"

[Damajin]

For people who think that those living on welfare are the real tax problem, I present to you the actual problem: Multi-billion dollar companies evading tax.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/29/12...egal-eu-ruling

"an estimate of up to $19 billion"

Good, fuck them and the rest of the offshore tax haven corporations, aka most of them. Those that aren't offshore just operate in Delaware or North Dakota.

If these companies had to actually pay the level of taxes they're supposed to it'd be interesting to see how much could actually be done year to year in the US.

[Kalis]

Had Ireland not offered inducements to Apple, then they would not have gone to Ireland, so both Ireland and Apple benefit from it.

Though the paddies may want to fix how they calculate growth when they include the companies they have deals with, as those figures are so distorted as to not represent anything close to reality.

[Deleted]

So, Google, Microsoft and so forth next? Oh and Obama complaining about Europe and their audacity to deal with tax evasion of course.

[Zan15]

good it's about time we close these loopholes.

Legal as it might be, time to make it not. You sell in this country, you earn in this country, you pay taxes like the 200 million workers do.

[satimy]

good it's about time we close these loopholes.

Legal as it might be, time to make it not. You sell in this country, you earn in this country, you pay taxes like the 200 million workers do.

Most of them probably do. One of the main reason corporations with a lot of foreign sales incorporate outside the us is because we tax them on foreign income so you essentially pay double tax on foreign goods. As mr x once said, if you don't take a piss.......

[Sorshen]

I hope they get roasted. They use cheap chinese labor and they avoid taxes at every corner while suing their competitors for ridiculous media device patents. No mercy.

[Deathquoi]

This anger is misplaced. Do you pay more taxes than you have to?

[Celista]

This anger is misplaced. Do you pay more taxes than you have to?

Most of us don't end up in court for tax evasion.

[Deleted]

I hope they have to pay back all of it.

[zhero]

This anger is misplaced. Do you pay more taxes than you have to?

companies getting paid tax relief does affect other people that aren't getting any, sometimes unlawful, favoritism.

[Chakah]

I know $19 billion sounds like a big scary number, but its really not. Its a tiny drop in the bucket.

2015 American Household Credit Card Debt Study

	Total owed by average U.S. household carrying this type of debt	Total debt owed by U.S. consumers
Credit cards	$15,310	$712 billion
Mortgages	$171,775	$8.37 trillion
Auto loans	$27,188	$1.07 trillion
Student loans	$48,986	$1.26 trillion

American Household Credit Card Debt Statistics: 2015 - NerdWallet

[Luxxor]

Apple could give 2 fucks, they will fight it in court then settle for pennies on the dollar.

[Kapadons]

need more money? Just steal it from a company that made a legal tax deal 35 years ago.


God I wish the EU would just fuck off already.

[Deathquoi]

Most of us don't end up in court for tax evasion.

Neither has Apple. They're not being charged with tax evasion, the deals they struck with the Irish government have just been nullified as illegal. That's a big difference. Tax evasion is a serious criminal offense that requires willful and knowing disregard or outright disobeyance of tax law.

- - - Updated - - -

companies getting paid tax relief does affect other people that aren't getting any, sometimes unlawful, favoritism.

Yup, that's certainly true. So get mad about these deals, but getting mad that a company was allowed to negotiate a more favorable tax status is silly. Most people do whatever they legally can to minimize their tax exposure because everyone hates paying taxes.

[Deleted]

I am not so sure about settling for "pennies on the dollar"; it isn't Ireland telling them they have to pay it. It is the EU saying it must be paid so as to stop Ireland acting in effect as a preferential tax haven within the EU.

[Deleted]

For people who think that those living on welfare are the real tax problem, I present to you the actual problem: Multi-billion dollar companies evading tax.

That's hardly anything new.
As much i am contra-Apple; they are just a scapegoat here, used to give the consumers a false sense of security and the feeling, that "something is being done".

[Deleted]

That's hardly anything new.
As much i am contra-Apple; they are just a scapegoat here, used to give the consumers a false sense of security and the feeling, that "something is being done".

They are most likely also the biggest case, of course this goes public. That's politics.

[Kapadons]

They didn't make a legal tax deal 35 years ago, it's something you are making up

tax deals made in 1991 and 2007

25 years ago -sorry for the typo.

If a government wants to offer tax incentives to attract a business, they should be allowed to do that without some asshole coming back decades later and saying they can't. Especially when said asshole didn't even exist at the time the deal was made.

Vancouver offers incentives so people will make movies there. How is that any different than this ?

[vaestmannaeyjar]

Vancouver offers incentives so people will make movies there. How is that any different than this ?

Basically, this is not what Ireland is doing. What Ireland is doing is offering you to pay lower taxes on money you earn outside of Ireland.

Basic mechanism:

Apple opens an office in Ireland. (Netherlands alwo work)
Apple then opens a subsidiary in, let's say, France.
Apple-Franceearns XXX millions of benefit a year
Apple - Ireland then makes Apple-France pay for the right of using the Apple name. very expensive deal, around XXX a year, the same as the benefit.
Apple France does 0 benefit and doesn't pay taxes in France
Apple Ireland gets to pay the taxes on the money earned in France in Ireland at Irish rates. (Except they now redirect it to Netherlands for the second tax evasion part. It's known as "double sandwich")
Guess what ? the french won't really like it. At a basic level, Ireland is stealing tax money from other EU countries. It was legal so far, but screwing people legally is still screwing them.