Roger Fingas
The European Commission is set to penalize Ireland with a "non-compliance action" for failing to collect up to $17.6 billion in back taxes from Apple, owed after the Commission found the Irish government brokered unfair deals that constituted illegal state aid.
The action could be issued as soon as this week, according to a Bloomberg source. A non-compliance penalty should take the form a lawsuit, which if won by regulators would result in a fine on top of the original money due.
Ireland was initially ordered to collect back taxes by Jan. 3, but has resisted both publicly and legally.
Apple and the Irish government have been working on an appeal, the latter insisting that terms extended to Apple were available to other companies as well. Under European Union rules, governments can't offer breaks to one company without making them open to all.
Apple has maintained that it follows the law in every country it operates in, but part of the concern is that Ireland crafted rules allowing the company to pay as little as 0.005 percent in taxes by 2014. The company has been funneling billions in international revenue through Irish operations rather than paying normal taxes in markets the money was generated from.
An appeal could take up to five years. In the meantime Apple and the Irish government have in fact been arranging a collection scheme, in which the latter will hold the money in escrow with the hope of returning it after a successful ruling.
Andrew O'Hara
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Andrew Orr
Charles Martin
Marko Zivkovic
23 Comments
It’s really sad to think that because of tax loopholes in the law the US didn’t get those billions in taxes. Shame on you Apple!
The EU is a bully who wants nice people like Ireland to be as cruel and tyrannical as themselves. Ireland is shining example to be imitated for fostering legitimate business growth; they shouldn't be dragged through the mud because they don't employ the same sadist communism that the rest of Europe
suffersenjoys.It wasn't long ago that Ireland was in dire straights. To jump out of that pithole economy (as much of the EU currently faces), they drastically cut taxes, reduced regulations, and implemented supply-side tax reforms that brought corporate taxes from 50% to a mere 12.5%. The "poor man of Europe" is now hailed as the "Celtic Tiger", and is ranked as one of the wealthiest countries in the world (GPD per capita) . Rapid growth has been driven by their adoption of pro-market, pro-growth policies, and will continue so long as they pursue their free enterprise model.
Nobody wants to be Greece.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_Republic_of_Ireland