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'It's Tricky': Apple Misses the Deadline To Pay $13.9 Bn To Ireland in Illegal Tax Benefit (cnbc.com)

Posted by msmash on from the tax-savings dept.

Apple has not fully paid the 13 billion euros ($13.9 billion) it owes to Ireland in illegal tax benefits even though the deadline has passed, the European Union's competition said on Tuesday. From a report: "Well the recovery is not done yet but we have been working with the Irish authorizes and we can see that they are moving forward to do the recovery of the unpaid taxes," EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said during a press conference in response to a question by CNBC. "It's a tricky thing to do because it's a large sum so of course you have to figure out how to do that. It's not as an escrow account in some of the other cases where it might be 25 or 30 million euros ... and therefore I do respect that it's a complicated matter and it may take a little more time. Last year, the Commission ruled that Ireland must recover 13 billion euros in "illegal tax benefits" from Apple. It found that the U.S. technology giant paid an effective tax rate of 0.005 percent in Ireland in 2014.

5 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. I wish... by Quakeulf · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I could just say "it's tricky" when the state comes to tax my business to hell and beyond. I pay 51% tax in total on my business entity here in Norway. If I try to fight this unjust practice against SMEs here in Norway they'll just ignore me.

    1. Re:I wish... by Tomahawk · · Score: 3, Interesting

      In the US at least, only profits are taxed.

      Same in the EU, and everywhere else that I know of. The 13bn owed here is taxes on profits made by Apple across Europe over a period of a few years. So you can imagine just how much profit they actually made!

      Normal corporation tax rate in Ireland is 12.5%, which tells us that Apple made profits in excess of €100bn over those years in Europe.

    2. Re:I wish... by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I like taxes because I like living in civilisation. I am happy to contribute my bit.

      I will not lie and pretend I like paying taxes. I like getting what they give me, and if I can get that for less money, I will. It's the same principle upon which big business works, and if it's good for them, then it's surely good for me.

      Contributing my bit is not really the problem. Being asked to contribute someone else's bit because they are evading taxes, or because they are purchasing legislation which permits them to avoid them instead while I still am expected to pay them, that is the problem.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  2. Re:Cant pay by rmdingler · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Hard to free up cash when all your money is hidden in holding companies, dodgy schemes and tax havens.

    While missing a payment deadline, I once told the electrical people my money was all tied up in fast times and poor decisions.

    Despite the chuckle it elicited, their level of compassion could be measured by the $12 late fee on a $144 light bill.

    --
    Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

    Ernest Hemingway

  3. Re:Does Ireland wan't the money? by Carewolf · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The very LAST thing Ireland really wants is to enforce this law. For good reason. Right now they get a bit of the cake, but they get a bit of the cake from everyone because every company, from Apple to Amazon to MS to Google, is hiding in their tax shelter.

    If they now actually fold (and yes, that would be Ireland folding to EU pressure), what reason is there for them to stay in Ireland? The weather?

    They still have the lowest corporate tax in the EU at 12.5% the companies would just have to pay that instead of 0.02%.

    Plus Ireland already ARE enforcing the tax again. The scheme was found illegal by Ireland's own supreme court, Ireland just said: We didn't know it was illegal so were are not going to be charging back taxes on the error. Where as EU have found letters between Apple and Ireland discussion wether or not they would accept the legally wrong scheme, and since Ireland did, have said that is illegal state aid, and thus they must collect back taxes and not just new taxes.

    The only reason Ireland is not happy to charge the back taxes is either: a) pride or b) corruption.. or maybe c) both.