European Commission investigation could undermine Apple's tax break arrangements in Ireland

[Justin Kahn]

As many of us know, Apple has been hoarding massive sums of cash in Ireland where it has a very friendly tax deal in place. This is a practice that landed Tim Cook in front of the US Senate last year and since sparked proposals by Ireland's Department of Finance that could shut down the tax haven for good.

The move by the Finance Department was initially part of its continued cooperation with the European Union to clean up corporate tax issues, and now the EU is set to start its own investigation into the way nations like Ireland allow massive multinationals to receive such lofty tax breaks.

Apple's Ireland holdings, Starbucks in the Netherlands and Fiat Finance and Trade in Luxembourg are among the corporations and tax deals being looked at. The investigation is being led by Joaquín Almunia, the European Union’s competition commissioner and could very well leave Apple and other country's cozy tax deals in the dust if it were to lead to changes.

Ireland has been a country of choice for many large tech companies. Apple is said to have as much as $100 billion stashed there. On top of the already low (12.5%) tax rate, Apple and other multinational companies also get further tax breaks and benefits from the Irish government.

On top of the obvious issues this could present for Apple and Starbucks, Ireland has used its friendly tax arrangement to attract major companies like Apple to headquarter there. This in turn creates jobs for Irish people and builds a certain level of reputation for the country that it wouldn't have otherwise.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/57076-european-commission-investigation-could-undermine-apples-tax-break-arrangements-in-ireland.html

 

[wastedkill]

So the EU are that sad and pathetic they are investigating a "low" tax rate in ireland because they arent getting a bit of that stash apple has.... kinda sad tbh they didnt get a piece of that tax so they investigate it :/

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Well if they continue to struggle stash their cash I have spare mattress they can use. I won't even charge them fees as long as they let me use their cash when and how I please.

 

[VitalyT]

In the meantime, the middle class, as the least protected, is chocking on the higher taxes here in Ireland.

The rich pay nothing, because they know the ways, and the poor have nothing to pay, so the middle class sucks it in.

Horrible, horrible situation.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

This is a practice that landed Tim Cook in front of the US Senate last year.

Yes, and he told them correctly that he was doing nothing illegal. America had a presidential candidate a couple years ago who wanted to end this practice and make it illegal, but we elected the other guy.

If the EU stops this practice then Apple will go chill with Google in Bermuda. If there's any room left next to Microsoft, IBM, Cisco and Hewlett-Packard....

 

[davislane1]

This is a practice that landed Tim Cook in front of the US Senate last year.

Yes, and he told them correctly that he was doing nothing illegal. America had a presidential candidate a couple years ago who wanted to end this practice and make it illegal, but we elected the other guy.

If the EU stops this practice then Apple will go chill with Google in Bermuda. If there's any room left next to Microsoft, IBM, Cisco and Hewlett-Packard....

You forgot to include the part where a bewildered EU tries to figure out why their tax revenues don't match pre-hike estimates.

 

[Guest]

Google? Facebook? Ebay? Microsoft?

They all 'minimise' their tax, but any minimisation that ends up paying almost nothing is pathetic and deprives the people of the support/facilities etc their government could provide...and that's AFTER charging through the nose for their gadgets and services.

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...shame on me (us).

Everyday working (mid or lower class) people don't get away with such scams or exploitation of loopholes. Rich people hide their money in tax havens and big multinational corporations do their best to pay nothing at all, particularly not in the regions where they sold the goods (this is the biggest nature of their despicable behaviour).

Don't get me started about it being 'legal'. There is another word called 'ethical', anyone remember WHY ethics are good?

Should, for example, a mother 'minimise her child exposure' or 'parental responsibilities''? Of course not. Should big cuddly companies do the same with regard to their regional tax liabilities?

I haven't bought an apple product since I heard of their 'tax avoidance' methods. Why would I, when so many other devices are better and cheaper anyway?

 

[Randomthom]

The really sick thing is when you think about what those taxes go towards...

Policing, do Apple Stores need to pay local gangsters "protection" money to avoid getting a brick through the window? Of course not, the police prevent that kind of behaviour in most developed countries.

Health, in the UK and (and Ireland I think) we don't need healthcare plans because we have the NHS, paid for by our (and their) taxes.

I could go on but the point is that businesses like these thrive because they are aided indirectly by what the taxes pay for. So are their customers.

As the previous poster points out so rightly, "legal" means nothing next to "ethical".

In fact, legal often means nothing to these large corporations, just look at Apple's level of care & diligence regarding how & where all the precious metals in their devices are mined. If a company can work out how much they'll get fined if they get caught and then work out how much their profit will be, it becomes a business decision.

 

[Guest]

Apple's Business & Cashflow mentality:
- It's not our job to make anyone else rich
- Pay the least possible for components and manufacture
- Pay the minimum wage to staff, particularly in stores
- It's not our job to make anyone else rich
- Overcharge for gadgets, aided by 'hipster' advertising
- Charge unjustifiable further markups to certain regions such as Australia
- Bait hypnotised victims, er customers with slightly upgraded models every 9 months
- Take all profits offshore
- Pay no tax, or as little as possible
- It's not our job to make anyone else rich
- All profits, including those we should have paid in taxes, go to the mothership
- Engage in constant, trivial lawsuits over what is often 'common sense' technology

Technology was meant to enrich everyone who participates with it, a win-win encounter. However technology 'companies' are hungry beasts who selfishly crave world dominance and most of all, your dollars in a one-way transaction. No return, and certainly no Ronald McDonald House.

And the best that Google can do is say "Do no evil'. What a barrel of laughs.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

Google? Facebook? Ebay? Microsoft?

They all 'minimise' their tax, but any minimisation that ends up paying almost nothing is pathetic and deprives the people of the support/facilities etc their government could provide...and that's AFTER charging through the nose for their gadgets and services.

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...shame on me (us).

Everyday working (mid or lower class) people don't get away with such scams or exploitation of loopholes. Rich people hide their money in tax havens and big multinational corporations do their best to pay nothing at all, particularly not in the regions where they sold the goods (this is the biggest nature of their despicable behaviour).

Don't get me started about it being 'legal'. There is another word called 'ethical', anyone remember WHY ethics are good?

Should, for example, a mother 'minimise her child exposure' or 'parental responsibilities''? Of course not. Should big cuddly companies do the same with regard to their regional tax liabilities?

I haven't bought an apple product since I heard of their 'tax avoidance' methods. Why would I, when so many other devices are better and cheaper anyway?

Do you feel the same way about people? Every March and April I see commercials for tax companies promising to get you the biggest refund possible. Is that unethical? It's perfectly acceptable for people to only pay what the law requires, why do we apply different standards to businesses?

The problem isn't the company, the problem is the law. I don't fault any company for not paying more tax than they're required. This is why politicians have been talking about rewriting tax code for like a decade now and why we have an entire party (called the Tea Party) who's in favor of completely changing how we pay taxes.

The front page of yahoo finance today even has a story called 'The lose-lose tax policy driving away U.S. Business' (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/lose-lose-tax-policy-driving-225500180.html) and the very first company they mention is Apple.