Slashdot Mirror
US Government Seeks To Intervene in Apple's EU Tax Appeal (reuters.com)
The U.S. government has sought to intervene in Apple's appeal against an EU order to pay back up to 13 billion euros ($14.8 billion) in Irish taxes, Reuters is reporting. From a report: iPhone maker Apple took its case to the Luxembourg-based General Court, Europe's second-highest, in December after the European Commission issued the record tax demand saying the U.S. company won sweetheart tax deals from the Irish government which amounted to illegal subsidies. The decision was criticized by the Obama administration which said the European Union was helping itself to cash that should have ended up in the United States. The Trump administration, which has tentatively proposed a tax break on $2.6 trillion in corporate profits being held offshore as part of its tax reform, has not said anything in public about the case.
Unless Europe is breaking any treaties, America can't do shit to this European incorporated company except pay it's tax bill. If America tries to retaliate they'll open up a full on trade war with Europe. Europe is very much anti-American/anti-Republican/anti-Trump right now. It's politicians would love nothing more than a demonstration of them sticking it to the yanks. It's guarantee them elections for the next 10 years. So bring it on. Somehow I doubt Apple is going to stope trading in Europe. Although it's 256B war chest might get a bit smaller.
I assume the US government thinks that 0.5% average tax is fine ?
If they have that opinion, I think they should let everybody know, and make sure Apple pays just as little in the US.
If not, shut up and let Apple pay what they rightfuly should have done. Be it 10-20 or 30%. Everybody knows 0.5% is wrong.
Europe has been making a practice of fining major American companies.
Europe has been making a practice of fining major companies, but for some reason only the American ones hit Slashdot.
It could be because European companies have learned that when EU says something you'd better off following the rules while US companies are used to being above the law from back home.
I know this is alien to someone from the US, but corporations are not above the law in Europe, and neither do they make them.
Different way of doing politics, and I can understand why you're flabbergasted that politicians and corporations are not sitting down together, making laws to fleece the population, but, well, there's different cultures who consider different things valuable. With you it's money, with us it's not being under the thumb of big business.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
"There's a simple solution to this - tax profits in the country where they originate. If a multinational wants to trade in a country, they pay her taxes. End of."
Actually, this is already the case. The problem is that the companies are designed to minimize their profit by moving the money between various legal entities in other countries. For instance "Starbucks reportedly paid just £8.6m in corporation tax in the UK over 14 years and nothing in the last four years - despite sales of £400m last year ... As part of its tax affairs, the firm (i.e. Starbucks UK) transferred some money to a Dutch sister company in royalty payments, bought coffee beans from Switzerland and paid high interest rates to borrow from other parts of the business." ( http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-pol... )