“Though Ireland is set to close its tax loopholes in January of next year, the changes won’t be applied to Apple and others until 2020, resulting in a ‘relatively neutral’ outcome for AAPL shareholders, investment firm Barclays said this week,” Neil Hughes reports for AppleInsider.
“Analyst Ben A. Reitzes characterized the upcoming changes to close the so-called ‘Double Irish’ tax loophole as a ‘minor issue’ for Apple. With the effect coming in 2020, he said the temporary relief balances against slightly lower long-term earnings power,” Hughes reports. “The “Double Irish” provision allows companies with operations in Ireland to route profits to another Irish subsidiary, which has tax residency in a tax-free nation, such as the Cayman Islands… With the “Double Irish” issue apparently addressed, Reitzes seemed more concerned as to whether the European Union would decide to impose a fine on Apple and others for its tax strategies.”
“After the EU investigation into Apple was announced earlier this year, the company responded this week and denied dodging EU tax laws or receiving special treatment from Irish authorities. The iPhone maker said it ‘pays every euro of every tax’ that it owes,” Hughes reports. “Barclays has maintained its ‘overweight’ rating for AAPL stock with a price target of $116.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If Apple operated legally, which they’ve repeatedly said they did, how can the EU legally impose any fines? The EU can’t fine for a future rule change set to hit in 2020, can they?
If they do — and perhaps even if they don’t, based simply on the demagoguery already heaped upon Apple by the EU — then Apple should pull out of Ireland and fully set up shop in the Caymans or wherever the EU doesn’t exist and where the tax situation is most favorable to Apple.
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