Apple says EU exaggerates the importance of Ireland to its business

I wonder what apple means that Ireland is not important in strategic planning? Financially the location, location over all or in corporate operations?

There must’ve been a huge incentive over usual hubs in Europe that Google too decided to locate their HQs in Europe to Ireland, Ireland isn’t really in the middle of action. But I hope that if this all along has been a tax haven loophole it gets closed, all profit in unpaid taxes get repaid.

As the article said, we’ll see in a couple of years what is the verdict, but currently doesn’t look like good practice has been followed. 

I would have thought Apple lawyers to be more astute than this .....

IMO this is a ridiculous argument.  Arguing that Ireland isn't important at the same time they move revenue's from across the EU and Asia into accounts controlled by their Irish subsidiaries seems $200B+ disingenuous. It could well come back to bite them as individual countries investigate big tech tax avoidance issues, something France is currently doing. 

gatorguy said:

IMO this is a ridiculous argument.  Arguing that Ireland isn't important at the same time they move revenue's from across the EU and Asia into accounts controlled by their Irish subsidiaries seems $200B+ disingenuous. It could well come back to bite them as individual countries investigate big tech tax avoidance issues, something France is currently doing. 

Here's the following 2 paragraphs from the Reuters' article (which explains why Apple was making this point):

Apple did not do a special Irish tax deal in return for creating jobs, Beard added.

“The Commission went out of its way to tell a fairy story about supposed benefits to employment. It has no evidence, it is wrong. There was no sense of any special deal. Ireland properly and correctly taxed the Irish branches. There was no derogation from the normal rules,” he said in his closing argument.

randominternetperson said:

gatorguy said:

IMO this is a ridiculous argument.  Arguing that Ireland isn't important at the same time they move revenue's from across the EU and Asia into accounts controlled by their Irish subsidiaries seems $200B+ disingenuous. It could well come back to bite them as individual countries investigate big tech tax avoidance issues, something France is currently doing. 

Here's the following 2 paragraphs from the Reuters' article (which explains why Apple was making this point):

Apple did not do a special Irish tax deal in return for creating jobs, Beard added.

“The Commission went out of its way to tell a fairy story about supposed benefits to employment. It has no evidence, it is wrong. There was no sense of any special deal. Ireland properly and correctly taxed the Irish branches. There was no derogation from the normal rules,” he said in his closing argument.

Ah, thanks for that.

So more a sideshow argument while avoiding reference to Apple's lightly-to-not-at-all-taxed subsidiaries who had nothing directly to do with minimal manufacturing of some Macs.

IMO the reason Apple has their only Apple-owned manufacturing plant in the world located in Cork is to use it as Irish tax shelter support for their worldwide profits. Without the tax avoidance made possible by the cost+ tax bill Apple arranged for manufacturing the 2 Irish financial subsidiaries would not have had cover.