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Comment by wavefunction | Hacker News Reader

Why is it funny that these activists focus on foreign companies selling in France but not paying taxes on those sales?

Seems perfectly understandable to me why foreign firms behaving like Apple would be the target.

The French were primary architects of the EU. It's a bit rich to complain now that Ireland and Apple are taking advantage of its rules.

The EU was created as a democratic institution, it's not strange at all to protest its laws, how they're implemented, or how they're followed.

I don't think anyone democratically voted for enshrining tax arbitrage across the bloc - this is the Irish government, a massive recipient of EU subsidies, gaming the system.

As an Irish and European person, I want you to know that your comment is misinformed and misleading. Global tax avoidance and evasion by multinationals has no relation to the formation of the EU, and the Irish government are at a gigantic economic loss (not advantage) as a result.

Apple pays every franc of tax it owes France on its sales there, no one has ever shown otherwise.

That's not true. Tax authorities in France already fined Apple a 400 million adjustment last year for tax avoidance in FY 2011 and 2013. After 2013 Apple changed their practices to be more obfuscated.

http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2016/11/24/le-fisc-fr...

'évasion fiscale' has to be tax evasion not tax avoidance which implies legally minimizing a tax bill which is what every rational organization and person does.

You mean what every rational organisation and person that are already rich enough to hire a “creative” accountant does?

And what every person in the US does who takes a deduction.

Taxes in France have been collected in Euros since the beginning of 2002.

Beginning 1999, if they were paid from a bank account...

Why are the sales booked through shell companies in countries outside of France then?

Its an illustration the one rule for French companies / industries one for the foreigners whose ceos didn't goto ENA.

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