This is 100% the fault of EU and American legislators.

Apple was mostly only doing what's reasonable (aside from, I think a 'special tax deal' - which is unfair).

The EU makes the rules. They created the gaping loophole.

Then they decide they want to 'change the law retroactively 25 years back' [1] - this is gong-show Chavista banana republic type property theft. Apple should sue them aggressively.

What should have happened:

A) The EU should have closed the loophole, long ago, and set some harmonization rules. When the closed the loophole, it should not have been retroactive.

B) American leegislators are at fault as well. Why? Because insane US tax laws prevents US companies from just bringing the money home.

Two problems:

  i) Corp tax rates are too high in the US 35%

Because of this, there's a lot of loopholes in the US tax code, instead, they should close them and just reduce the tax rate to be consistent with the international averages

  ii) US 'double taxes' foreign profits. A US company that pays 25% corp tax in France, brings the money back - is hit with another 35% tax. US is the only country that does that. Everywhere else, they pay a repatriation fee. The US system is basically designed as though the rest of the world does not exist. US should have a repatriation fee - it can even be commensurate with level of taxes paid in country of origin to be smart about it.

Large US companies are not really 'American' - they often have the majority of their staff, majority of sales, possibly majority shareholders overseas. So we need to grasp this new world order.

The only thing really sneaky that Apple did was pressure the Irish to give them a special deal, but it's still legal, and rational.

The EU is a terrible organization, they're incompetent, ideological, and they work against us as often as they work for us.

If there 'was a problem' with Apple's taxes, it was 100% their own fault - Apple was just following the law.

You can't change laws and have them apply retroactively for 1/4 century, it's totalitarian.

To be clear: I don't think that Apple should have been given a special deal, but it's not their fault for trying, or for having been given it.

It's quite common: Ontario just gave a huge subsidy to Cisco to open an office in Toronto. It could have very well been in the form of tax subsidy. EU massively subsidizes Airbus. Auto manufacturing incentives etc. etc. it's all common. Agree or not with them, but they're not nefarious.

[1] http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-2923_en.htm

"Following an in-depth state aid investigation launched in June 2014, the European Commission has concluded that two tax rulings issued by Ireland to Apple have substantially and artificially lowered the tax paid by Apple in Ireland since 1991"