“Ireland accused the European Commission on Monday of exceeding its powers and interfering with the EU member’s national sovereignty over tax affairs in ruling that Apple owes Dublin billions of euros in taxes, saying it had failed to give proper reasons for its decision,” Conor Humphries reports for Reuters.
“In September the Irish government agreed to join with Apple in appealing against the Commission’s order that the U.S. company must pay Dublin up to 13 billion euros ($14 billion) after ruling the firm had received illegal state aid in avoiding paying such taxes,” Humphries reports. “On Monday both Ireland and Apple laid out the legal arguments that would form the basis of their appeals.”
“‘The Commission has manifestly breached its duty to provide a clear and unequivocal statement of reasons in its decision, in relying simultaneously on grossly divergent factual scenarios, in contradicting itself as to the source of the rule that Ireland is said to have breached, and in suggesting that Ireland granted aid in relation to profits taxable in other jurisdictions,’ the Irish government said in a statement,” Humphries reports. “[Ireland] said Apple’s subsidiaries did not receive special treatment in the 1991 and 2007 tax opinions at the center of the case, and that the company’s treatment did not depart from normal taxation, the statement said. It then said the commission had overstated the level of profits attributable to Apple subsidiaries Apple Sales International and Apple Operations Europe.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Now, to be fair, this is only because poor Margrethe is an idiot politician. Go back to Denmark, you’re in over your head – unless your agenda is to destroy the EU from the inside out, in which case: Carry on, you’re doing a hell of a job!
Anyone who decides to set up a business in a European Union vassal state today is insane.
SEE ALSO:
Apple formally appeals EU tax grab this week, says company was a ‘convenient target’ – December 19, 2016
The ‘Brexit-Apple’ connection: What in the world was Margrethe Vestager thinking? – September 12, 2016
EU ministers line up to take tax bites out of Apple – September 12, 2016
Former EU competition commissioner: Vestager claim that Apple owes back taxes an incorrect use of EU law – September 2, 2016
Irish government to fight EU on Apple tax – September 2, 2016
Treasury accuses EU of trying to steal U.S. tax revenues with Apple decision – September 1, 2016
Irish residents opposed to EU’s tax demand of Apple – September 1, 2016
Apple Inc. pushes back against EU tax grab – September 1, 2016
Apple may repatriate billions of dollars next year after new U.S. President takes office – September 1, 2016
U.S. tax code allows for dramatic retaliation against EU overreach in Apple case – September 1, 2016
Apple CEO Tim Cook on EU tax demand: ‘No one did anything wrong here and Ireland is being picked on… It is total political crap’ – September 1, 2016
U.S. Treasury: The European Commission’s retroactive tax demands on Apple are unfair – August 30, 2016
EU demands Apple pay massive $14.5 billion in taxes plus interest – August 30, 2016
U.S. government warns EU: Do not hit Apple with a massive back tax bill – or else – August 25, 2016
MDN: “Anyone who decides to set up a business in a European Union vassal state today is insane.”
No…that assertion is the insane bit. Why is trying to build a successful enterprise, whatever the financial conditions or country specific difficulties- a bad thing?
Do you only give approval and points to American companies?
Is it your opinion that everywhere outside US borders is a waste of space and effort?
If so, a message from the rest of the world…”Go fsck yourself”
MDN/SteveJack/Apple Fanboys:
Apple can never do wrong. Everyone is always wrong, Apple and its cult are always right.
MDN is bipolar and delusional. Apple is nothing more than a for profit corporation. They are equal under the law. Period.
The EU has not “targeted” Apple anymore than a Police Officer targets you for speed enforcement. Not everyone gets caught speeding, and it would be impossible to meet that standard. But that’s no excuse to speed: it’s illegal.
Same too here: not all tax cheats will be prosecuted, but that doesn’t excuse anyone from running afoul of the Tax Code: there is no statute of limitations on tax breaches.
The law is the law, and we’ll see how it plays out here.
Can you say Shamrexit?
It’s actually Ireland being “punished” here, but Apple is expected to do the paying. Apple should pay and then sue Ireland for making representations that as an EU member nation they did not have the authority to make.
Ireland does not have the right to waive taxes for monies earned elsewhere in the EU.