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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.

7 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. Cant pay by rainmouse · · Score: 5, Insightful

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

    1. Re:Cant pay by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 5, Insightful

      So it's already in Ireland? That should make it easier.

      Well, when the country you are supposed to pay it to refuses to accept it, that is a pretty big problem. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-...

      BTW, why is a failure to meet a Jan. 3rd deadline suddenly in the news? Even the EU bureaucracy isn't that slow.

      Interesting tidbit: if they dumped the money in front of the Irish treasury as 500 Euro bills, that would be over 29 metric tons of paper, with a volume of about 34 cubic meters. It seems that would be slightly more than fits into a 20' shipping container - but you would need at least two anyway, because of the weight limit on trucks. So yeah, they could do that - if they can find somebody to sign the receipt. (http://www.fondations.net/weight-from-500-euro-note-informative/)

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
  2. Some options by The-Ixian · · Score: 5, Funny

    I know that people are working overtime at Apple to come up with this solution but here are some ideas for you:

    - Giant novelty check
    - Mountain of pennies
    - Unsold Apple watches
    - Briefcase full of "iBucks"
    - "Hey what's that?!" *run away*

    --
    My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
  3. Re:I wish... by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And that's why such tax evasion is a bad thing: it's unfair competition. I hate taxes as much as the next guy and I would like to "avoid" them where I can. But in practise tax evasion and the secret tax rulings that are so popular in my country (which puts the Dutch in the Double Dutch Sandwich) are accessible only to large entities. As a small business owner paying 25-50% tax, how are you supposed to compete against companies that end up paying 0.005%?

    --
    If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  4. Re:Escrow by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And still, if this wasn't Apple but Paddy O'Random not paying his tax, he'd find his home raided and emptied out tonight.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  5. Re:Does Ireland wan't the money? by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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?

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  6. Re:I wish... by kimvette · · Score: 5, Insightful

    > As a small business owner paying 25-50% tax, how are you supposed to compete against companies that end up paying 0.005%?

    You're not, and that is by design.

    --
    The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50