[NEWS] EU hits Apple with $14.6 billion tax evasion bill; US outraged

[otto-san]

This. I feel like all the discussion so far has generally overlooked the actual story and that that Apple was adhering to law of the local jurisdiction, not evading taxes. The EU disagreed with Ireland, and Apple gets the punishment for it.

maybe ireland was allowing it, but the reason they're being asked to pay back taxes is because the EU decided it breaks their laws, the EU being the authoritative body on economic policy in the area. and i don't think in principle i blame them, giving one company such significant tax breaks compared to others could definitely be considered unfair preferential treatment. still, there's definitely credit to the idea that this is more so ireland's fault than apple's. ireland shouldn't have provided apple with a tax haven, apple just made the smart move of taking it.

i'm also pretty sure the EU isn't insane enough to demand immediate payment of the full $14.6bil like some people seem to be thinking, but regardless, it's definitely going to be a hit to their profits.

[Ad Bot]

[Nickpb 3.0]

0.005%? literally die. if 20% of my $10 an hour paycheck goes to the government every week then a multibillion dollar company can f********** deal with it

Except that's what you pay working in the united states government and this is about a companies LEGAL deal with another country? Plus individuals are taxed differently than corporate enties but you knew that and just wanted to make a statement about big bad mega corporations

[Scout31]

maybe ireland was allowing it, but the reason they're being asked to pay back taxes is because the EU decided it breaks their laws, the EU being the authoritative body on economic policy in the area. and i don't think in principle i blame them, giving one company such significant tax breaks compared to others could definitely be considered unfair preferential treatment. still, there's definitely credit to the idea that this is more so ireland's fault than apple's. ireland shouldn't have provided apple with a tax haven, apple just made the smart move of taking it.

i'm also pretty sure the EU isn't insane enough to demand immediate payment of the full $14.6bil like some people seem to be thinking, but regardless, it's definitely going to be a hit to their profits.

Yeah, that's true. I was assuming the EU was demanding that money immediately, which would not at all be fair to Apple. However even if the EU requests that they pay it back over the same time span that it occurred (I can't remember, something like 15-20 years?), they'll be paying double the taxes for that time span (assuming they're netting roughly the same profit), so something like 40% of their EU income. I doubt they've just held on to the money, it's probably been invested in something or other. Either way, they're getting a pretty sour deal While believing that they were abiding the law.

[otto-san]

Yeah, that's true. I was assuming the EU was demanding that money immediately, which would not at all be fair to Apple. However even if the EU requests that they pay it back over the same time span that it occurred (I can't remember, something like 15-20 years?), they'll be paying double the taxes for that time span (assuming they're netting roughly the same profit), so something like 40% of their EU income. I doubt they've just held on to the money, it's probably been invested in something or other. Either way, they're getting a pretty sour deal While believing that they were abiding the law.

yeah rly sucks for apple, makes sense that they would be trying to appeal this lol

[TristanLuigi]

maybe ireland was allowing it, but the reason they're being asked to pay back taxes is because the EU decided it breaks their laws, the EU being the authoritative body on economic policy in the area. and i don't think in principle i blame them, giving one company such significant tax breaks compared to others could definitely be considered unfair preferential treatment. still, there's definitely credit to the idea that this is more so ireland's fault than apple's. ireland shouldn't have provided apple with a tax haven, apple just made the smart move of taking it.

i'm also pretty sure the EU isn't insane enough to demand immediate payment of the full $14.6bil like some people seem to be thinking, but regardless, it's definitely going to be a hit to their profits.

yeah, this is really what's going on
but i agree with the EU's decision, ireland's tax breaks are insanely corrupt and should never have been allowed by the EU in the first place

[Nonnel]

All companies should evade taxes because they are theft

[WaterOre]

All companies should evade taxes because they are theft

row row fight the power

[Foxscotch]

row row fight the power

not taxing companies would be the opposite of fighting the power
it'd be, like, establishing the power

[Steve5451²]

stuff they already get enough money, don't need to be evading taxes on top of it.

[Ipquarx]

Apple: "It's not our fault that tax loophole was just sitting there, ripe for the taking!"
The rest of the loving world: "It's your fault you abused it, starfish"

[Lord Tony®]

Lol they also have to pay interest.

Apple can still afford it.

[Lord Tony®]

Here's the thing.

ireland knew this was illegal.

Apple knew this was illegal.

Both were loving in on it.

[Lord Tony®]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsQb7FvAUUk

Samsung sends apple 1 billion in coins.

I bet apple will send EU 14 billion in coins.

[sir dooble]

Good. There should be a precedent set. Their are too many big US companies that squirm their way around paying taxes across Europe.

Which is why the US is involved, by the way. It's not that the US wants to save Apple $15bn, but rather that they don't want all the other massive corporations to lose their tax advantages too. This includes companies like Google, Facebook and Starbucks who have all made creative use of the tax laws across Europe to avoid paying their dues.

And to be honest, Ireland should be held accountable too for even offering these special arrangements.
The nation had to be bailed out by the EU, but they're doing under-the-table deals with mega-corporations, giving them an easy foothold in Europe.

[$trinick]

Apple: "It's not our fault that tax loophole was just sitting there, ripe for the taking!"
The rest of the loving world: "It's your fault you abused it, starfish"

It wasn't a loophole. It was a deal that Ireland made with them. Ireland literally told them that if they created jobs in Ireland, they wouldn't have to pay taxes. They agreed to that deal, and then later they were told that since the deal was illegal, they actually have to pay it anyway.

Think of it like this:

You receive mail from the local government of your Canadian province (or for people in the US, state) offering you a deal where if you volunteer for local community service for 4 hours a week, they will waive your obligation for income tax paid to your province (or state). The note explains that they are trying to increase the amount of community service done, and they believe that it is worth trading your direct help in exchange for you having to not pay income tax to them. You gladly oblige, because even though you'll have to spend half your Saturdays at the local soup kitchen, you'll save a bunch of money. Win for you, win for them. Then the Canadian (or US) government steps in and says that that deal is illegal. They state that you can't give unfair tax advantage to someone just for using their time to volunteer. Their ruling demands that you pay back taxes for all of the income you didn't pay tax on while you were engaged in the deal.

Doesn't that seem unfair? Irrelevant of how much money it is, it seems unfair to me to just nix a deal like that. Again, it would be one thing if they determined that it was illegal and going forward the deal cannot continue, but it doesn't seem right to me that they would force you to pay taxes on all that money.