I'm quite impressed by the following facts:
- The EU ruling finds that Ireland broke the law.
- The penalty is that Ireland gets a boatload of money.
- Ireland is appealing the ruling.
- The EU ruling finds that Ireland broke the law.
- The penalty is that Ireland gets a boatload of money.
- Ireland is appealing the ruling.
1) win and things continue as they are 2) lose, and leave the EU 3) lose, and Apple and 1000s of other companies leave Ireland and Ireland loses in the Long run.
If the EU wants taxes to be paid they need to fix local tax laws not chase businesses to pay. Fix why companies offshore this stuff to begin with. Taxes are too high.
Taxes are a red herring, the EU doesn't see this dispute as a tax issue but as a competition issue (which is why it's understood as state aid not as tax policy): by giving them special tax arrangements Ireland is unfairly advantaging Apple against other businesses of the Common Market which don't get to pay sub-unit corporate tax.
It's a free market after all and that's what the EU is fighting to keep. I'm extremely surprised to see so many Americans against it - it's the root of your very own system. I guess it's just misinformation.
If the EU gets it's way, it's Ireland that loses, not Apple.
The EU was a brilliant idea that has been poorly executed and it should be disbanded completely.
Are you aware that Ireland pertains to the EU, isn't?
You're making no sense whatsoever, this isn't about "EU becoming competitive" it's about competitive environment between companies operating in the common market. If one specific company gets a sweetheart corporate tax deal the market is distorted, because every other company has to pay the posted tax rate and doesn't get to keep an additional 10% of their income.
And the EU is not "throwing its weight around", the rule on state aid dates back to the foundational EEC treaty (the Treaty of Rome, back in '57), it predates both the modern EU and Ireland's accession to the EEC.
Ireland's corporate tax rate is 12.5%…
> It's naive to assume this is about special treatment alone.
No, it really isn't, and again that's besides the point. If Ireland believed their corporate taxes where still too high, they could lower them across the board rather than give one specific company its own deal.