Ireland Will Bring the Fight Over Apple Taxes To the EU Court (digitaltrends.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Digital Trends: The tax debate between Apple, Ireland, and the European Union may escalate in the next few months. According to recent reports, the Irish Finance Minister, Michael Noonan, will bring the debate to the EU court, a move that could trigger a years-long court battle. The battle stems from a European Commission finding that Ireland had been giving Apple tax breaks, something that has attracted a number of multinational employers to Ireland. The EU, however, has ordered the practices to change. After a three-year probe into Ireland's relationship with Apple, the European Commission ordered Ireland to collect $14.5 billion in back taxes from the company. That is the largest state-aid payback demand in history. The decision has been the subject of criticism, particularly from this side of the Atlantic. The U.S. Treasury Department says the decision is a threat "to undermine foreign investment, the business climate in Europe, and the important spirit of economic partnership between the U.S. and the EU." Apple has also vowed to fight against the EU decision, and those appeals will follow the ones already pending in Luxembourg, where the EU is headquartered. Those pending appeals include cases against Starbucks.

Comments

Now, those are some docile politicians!

[Anonymous Coward]

No wonder all the shifty companies want to register in Ireland!

Re:Funny

[HuguesT]

The EU is a commonwealth among nations. One deal is that members refrain from competing unfairly against each other. The EU actually enforces these deals. Who would have thought.

Typical

[Anonymous Coward]

Basically the Irish Elites are the petty bourgeoisie of the globalist over-class. They provide Apple etc, with nigh 0% tax environment, and in return receive near San Francisco level salary levels in the city of Dublin, which by rights should have a wage level closer to Manchester.

This is about money, and the ruling class here will do anything to keep their hands on it. If Apple asked them to dig up Croke Park they'd probably do it.

Re:Funny

[psycho12345]

Nations also sign treaties. Treaties usually result in laws being passed. Otherwise the other nations who sign the treaty just ignores you and kicks you out of the treaty.

One of the most fundamental concepts in civil law is contracts, and treaties are just contracts between nation states. Break any contract you sign in good faith and tell me how it goes.

Shady

[fluffernutter]

When you're making a shady deal, make sure there is no higher authority than the person you're getting into bed with.

Re:Irish Brexit?

[Carewolf]

With news like this, suddenly the Irish will be interested in their own Brexit.

No.. That would make them even more dirt poor than they already are from not collecting their taxes.

screw crApple

[niittyniemi]

FTA:

> ...and those appeals will follow the ones already pending in Luxembourg, where the EU is headquartered.

No it's not. Try Brussels in Belgium.

Hope the court nails the sweetheart deal between Apple and the Irish taxman.

It hasn't just cost the Irish but every other consumer in the EU who has bought iCrap. All the profits go back to Ireland where they're essentially not taxed but squirrelled away by Apple. Apple stockholders win but EU citizens get screwed.

Re: screw crApple

[jabuzz]

Because if Ireland was correctly collecting the taxes they would be paying more into the EU coffers and getting less from them.

Re:screw crApple

[niittyniemi]

roman_mir excretes:

> There shouldn't be any income, any corporate, any wealth taxes at all. Your insane collectivist governments will eventually fall once there are no more jobs left for the collectivists and all the jobs move anywhere where the collectivists cannot get them.

You're highly delusional. On this side of the Atlantic we pay our taxes and we like it.

When we're ill, unemployed, disabled, homeless etc. the government steps in to help us. That's the unwritten contract we have with our European governments.

Compare and contrast with the US where you have a large underclass of people, who if they're not in prison, cannot afford proper healthcare, food or housing. I'll take the European approach, thank you very much.

Apple, by paying less than 1% of their European profits in tax force everybody else to pay more tax. If I set up business in Ireland, do you think I'll pay less than 1% on my corporate profits?

Answer: No, because I couldn't afford the backhanders to get such a deal.

The self-serving retard that is Tim Cook doesn't seem to understand that concept.

BTW, Tim Cook is toast. Just a matter of time until the street realises he hasn't produced anything useful during his reign. On the contrary, he's turned some good stuff into garbage eg. Macbook Pro, OSX.

Re:Funny

[Anonymous Coward]

...unelected bureaucrats...

I get tired of hearing this one.

Yes, they're unelected but they're appointed by their respective member states. If you have a problem with how your government's representative is acting, or with the laws they're drafting and voting up, then take it up with your own government because it's your own democratically elected government who put them there.

Take it up with your own EU commissioner too, because they're the ones who should be out in public promoting the ideals of the union - such as they are - and giving the people a little taste of the transparency and accountability they deserve. Whatever you do, though, never forget that they serve only at their political masters' pleasure; they're not faceless bureaucrats. If your politicians think there are votes to be won by appointing a different commissioner... then I'll be living in a fantasy world where every nation's problems are solved and people actually have time to care about European politics. As it is we can only hope that 28 people are both competent and have our best interests at heart.

The definiton of a honest cop

[Required Snark]

According to some, an honest cop is one who keeps his deal after you've bribed him, even if someone makes a better offer afterwards.

By that definition, Ireland is being an honest cop for Apple (and various other large corporate tax dodgers).