“In taking a bite out of Apple Inc., the beleaguered bloc has gone where the U.S. feared to tread and demonstrated that it still has clout when it comes to taking on corporate giants,” Ian Wishart reports for Bloomberg. “The move is a powerful reminder to the U.K. that in patrolling the terms of access to its half a billion consumers, the EU punches its global weight.”
“There’s something else as well. By ordering the world’s richest company to pay Ireland a record 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) in back taxes, it’s given the U.K. a chance to reinvent itself as a fiscal paradise for multinationals in a post-Brexit world,” Kennedy reports. “‘EU rules will not be binding in the U.K. and it’s interesting to see how it will affect firms,’ said Georgios Petropoulos, research fellow at the Brussels-based policy group Bruegel. ‘Will firms from Ireland prefer to move to the U.K. where the European Commission does not have any power to prosecute them there?'”
Kennedy reports, “‘This is another example of how the EU helps to stand up to massive international corporations,’ Susan Kramer, the economic spokesperson for the U.K.’s Liberal Democrats, said in a statement. ‘It’s perfectly possible for a company like Apple to bully Ireland, or even the U.K., into sweetheart deals — but the EU acts as a referee.'”
MacDailyNews Take: Poor Susie just doesn’t get it.
Kennedy reports, “Apple and the Irish government say they will appeal the EU ruling and the U.S. have complained that its companies are being unfairly targeted. The EU, if anything, is likely to double down.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote yesterday:
Anyone who decides to set up a business in a European Union member country today is insane.
SEE ALSO:
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary on Apple tax row: Irish government should tell EU to f**k off – August 31, 2016
U.S. taxpayers could end up paying Apple’s bill for back taxes in Ireland – August 30, 2016
Morningstar: Apple remains fundamentally undervalued after EU tax grab – August 30, 2016
Obama admin worries EU’s Apple decision will cost U.S. taxpayers; Bernie Sanders applauds EU tax demand – August 30, 2016
Ireland doesn’t want Apple’s $14.5 billion in so-called back taxes – August 30, 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
Apple CFO Maestri: Despite EU tax ruling, we will continue to invest in Ireland – August 30, 2016
Apple CEO Cook blasts European Commission for ‘ignoring Ireland’s tax laws, upending the international tax system’ – August 30, 2016
European Commission to rule Ireland’s tax arrangement with Apple illegal – August 29, 2016
Ireland prepares for a fight with EU over Apple tax clawback – August 29, 2016
U.S. government warns EU: Do not hit Apple with a massive back tax bill – or else – August 25, 2016
European Commission denies anti-U.S. bias after U.S. Treasury intervention over Apple, Amazon tax probes – August 25, 2016