To split a hair, you're comparing apple's effective tax rate to an individual's marginal tax rate.Whatever way you slice it, at 0.005%, Apple paid fifty euro tax on every million they made in 2014. Fifty euro!!! That's scandalous when we are charging citizens 41% up to 50% tax.
This is my feeling too. Ireland's money laundry ought to be stopped, but we can't afford for the laundry's customers to flee all at once, so we have to be seen to try to defend them.What we need is some really bad lawyers.
Unless they are crooked financial institutions in which case they can cripple the country financially for generations to come and have their debts written off.... They don't get to vote or collect social welfare, so why should they pay the same taxes? ...
I take your point, but governments granting undue influence to companies isn't a problem that taxation will fix.Unless they are crooked financial institutions in which case they can cripple the country financially for generations to come and have their debts written off.
Apple and Ireland Inc. struck a legal taxation deal. The EU is trying to make it illegal retrospectively.
Should Ireland be getting all of the 13bn? Of course not. Its not our money, it was simply a clever accounting/tax approach to dealing with profits, no head office, no/few employees, etc. Though where it does go is another dilemma.
Interesting point. Apple reported the profits in Ireland and as such they should be taxed in Ireland, at least that is my understanding of it.
Arguments for appealing.
The generous tax regime was put in place to attract companies to Ireland.
The government should defend its policies, and those companies which complied with the Irish law.
We are entitled to set our own tax rates.
Can understand that logic, however my understanding is that tax is usually follows the substance of transactions (not easy to define though at times, particularly where IT and IP is involved). General tax anti avoidance provisions are typically based on the substance of transactions. Using that approach would suggest that the profits did not accrue in Ireland commercially.
As I understand it the ruling does not say that Apple did not obey all relevant tax legislation in Ireland or any other jurisdiction. the ruling says that Irish tax law was in contravention of EU law.
How the tax got from 12.5% to 0.005% is indeed astonishing.
Where is the .005% coming from?
To split a hair, you're comparing apple's effective tax rate to an individual's marginal tax rate.
More broadly, corporations are not people, so I have no problem with treating them differently. They don't get to vote or collect social welfare, so why should they pay the same taxes?
No, they don't Vote. They have much more power than that!More broadly, corporations are not people, so I have no problem with treating them differently. They don't get to vote or collect social welfare, so why should they pay the same taxes?
My overriding feeling is that Apple should have been subject to the normal tax arrangements in Ireland (or indeed wherever they operate). Our corporation tax rate is 12.5% and that should have been what they paid. I have no issue with, and indeed we should be offering, generous incentives, etc, to attract FDI. However, I really struggle with a tax rate of 0.005% on their massive profits.
How the tax got from 12.5% to 0.005% is indeed astonishing. Reality is Ireland Inc facilitated them in not paying taxes on massive profits made from consumers in Europe and USA. That is clearly wrong in my mind. They paid (virtually) no taxes anywhere on these profits?
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