Apple To Start Paying Ireland the Billions It Owes In Back Taxes (engadget.com)

Last year, Apple was ordered to pay a record sum of 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) plus interest after the European Commission said Ireland illegally slashed the iPhone maker's tax bill. "But Ireland was rather slow to start collecting that cash, which led the Commission to refer the Irish government to the European Court of Justice in October due to Ireland's non-compliance with the 2016 ruling," reports Engadget. "However, the Wall Street Journal reports today that the country will finally start collecting those billions of dollars owed by Apple and it may start doing so early next year." From the report: Both Apple and Ireland have fought back against the ruling -- Ireland has said that the European Union overstepped its authority and got some of the country's laws wrong while Apple has maintained that the amount it's being told to repay was miscalculated. Both are continuing to appeal the decision and the money will sit in an escrow fund while they do so. Ireland has said that negotiating the terms of that fund is what has held up its collection of the money but the European Commission said that the action it has taken against Ireland for failing to follow the 2016 ruling will proceed until the money is collected in full.

Comments

Re:Not quite correct

[110010001000]

Soon to be irrelevant? Who is going to make it irrelevant? Keep sucking up to your corporate masters, I am sure they are going to be good to you.

Re:Not quite correct

[Anonymous Coward]

Exactly one country is leaving, and it doesnâ(TM)t even want to any more, having firmly realized that was a jolly great mistake.

But Iâ(TM)m sure the facts wonâ(TM)t get in your way.

Re:Not quite correct

[GuB-42]

The EU is not an irrelevant third party, it is the main reason why Apple is in Ireland.

Do you think Apple has such a presence in Ireland for the domestic market?

Ireland has signed and ratified a treaty to be in the EU, they didn't follow the rules, it is illegal.

Re:Better Option

[serviscope_minor]

Apple should spend seven billion to provide arms to Ireland to succeed from the EU.

Fucking moron. Ireland doesn't need arms to leave the EU because it's a soverign country. All they have to do is invoke Article 51.

They won't of course because as they can see from their neighbour, it's an incredibly stupid idea.

Re:EU, mind your own business.

[Freischutz]

Ireland is in almost the unique position to ignore this particular EU directive. The EU will not kick them out.

No it is not. The EU is backing the Republic to the hilt in the N-Ireland border dispute with Britain due to Brexit and the EU has pretty much told them the EU will veto any offer the British make that the Irish Republic does not like. It is very much in Ireland's interest not to piss the EU off any more and the EU26 are already pretty pissed over Ireland's tax haven antics.

Re:EU, mind your own business.

[TheRaven64]

Yes, they can. It is entirely fine for Ireland to set their corporation tax rate to zero. It is not, however, fine for Ireland to set Apple's tax rate to 0.005% (not a typo), but keep everyone else's at 25/12.5%(non-trading income / trading income), because that's state aid to a specific company. This is in violation of the free trade treaties that Ireland signed with the EU, which (try to) guarantee a level playing field for companies competing within the single market.

Re:EU does not cover taxation

[The Cynical Critic]

Except the EU agreement EXCLUDES taxation. So EC's attempt to bring taxation under its authority has no legal basis.

The Treaty of Lisbon, one of the founding documents of the EEC, which Ireland ratified when they joined it in the 1970s and would eventually evolve into the EU, is pretty clear on this subject and the EU most definitely has the authority to levy sanctions, even kick a country out of the EU, for violating the treaties the EU is based upon.

Not sure how you somehow got it into your head that the EU somehow has no authority on taxation, but the EU is built on a number of treaties, some of them containing parts relating to taxation. Sure, the EU may not be able to set actual tax rates in countries, but the Treaty of Lisbon most definitely does ban special company-specific tax deals like those that Ireland and Luxenburg have over the last few years been caught making.

If Apple doesn't like paying taxes on it's profits it can sell it's stuff elsewhere and if Ireland wants to make these deals they can join Britain in leaving the EU, but until they do, this is the reality.