Apple: The European Union's Pointless Tax Crusade

Seeking Alpha ^ | Aug. 31, 2016 11:01 AM ET | By Mark Hibben

[Swordmaker]

SUMMARY

• Since the late '80s, Apple and other US multinationals have used Irish tax law to shield overseas profits from taxation by the EU or the US.

• The European Union has declared the Irish tax arrangements illegal and asserts that Apple now owes $14.5 billion in “back taxes”.

• The US Treasury Department believes that the EU claim is an unjustified attempt to grab tax revenue it would receive from repatriation of Apple's overseas cash.

The executive arm of the European Union (EU), the European Commission , has decided that Apple received illegal tax breaks from Ireland. The EC is now embarked on a crusade to force Ireland to recover back taxes of $14.5 billion it claims Apple should have paid, despite a warning from the US Department of the Treasury not to go there. Almost certainly, the EC will fail in its attempt at retroactive taxation. . .

Source: Alchetron

Treasury points out that it's a departure from previous interpretations and legal decisions by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Treasury is probably right about this.

And this is the reason why it's going to be so difficult for the EC to make good on its $14.5 billion claim. As a new legal interpretation, even if held to be valid, the EC can't retroactively apply it to a member country such as Ireland. This would violate a more fundamental legal principle within the EU of "legal certainty".

. . . Ireland will appeal the EC decision to the Court of Justice. The Court will probably agree that the EC's interpretation of state aid is novel and therefore cannot be applied retroactively. That's assuming it even agrees with the new interpretation.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

“I see you have some money there. Give it to me.”

Socialists always run out of other people’s money.

[Swordmaker]

Seeking Alpha looks at whether the EU's Antitrust Commission can even enforce its ruling and has any basis in EU law for what the Commission is ruling and finds it is lacking in legal basis for the Apple retroactive taxation. Quite an interesting read. And surprise, no, the EU is not a national government. The EU really has no power to enforce the ruling of its commission! — PING!

Apple's and Ireland's Legal Basis for An Appeal
Ping!

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[piytar]

+infinity

But that is by design. The government goons want everyone who is not funneling their money to them to be BROKE.

[Swordmaker]

Socialists always run out of other people’s money.

What's really funny is that Apple is caught between TWO groups of salivating socialists who are arguing about which one gets to steal Apple's money! Ireland would be able to tax it retroactively at only 12.5% minus whatever tax Apple has already paid. The US Treasury want Apple to pick it all up and bring it home so THEY can tax it at 35%! Hilarious!

On the other hand, Ireland doesn't WANT it. . . but the drooling EU socialists do . . . because they have a regulation that requires Ireland to pay off any outstanding loans they have received from the EU with any back taxes they receive. Oh. . . guess what, this 13 billion Euro windfall of back taxes from Apple would go straight to the EU!

[Unrepentant VN Vet]

Sounds to me as if the EU is trying to follow their BREXIT sh**burger with an APPLEEXIT cowflop sundae for desert.

...dumber than a pile of wet stone.

[867V309]

I'm conflicted here.

Apple: a fag agenda, crony company
European Union: 100% GLOBALIST
Taxes: always bad because they finance the above

[RockyTx]

the slimeballs at Apple
get to negotiate their own
tax rate.(in Ireland)

has anybody at FR tried that
with the IRS.

I don’t like paying 28%.
do you think the IRS would take 5%?

[beethovenfan]

Apple: “Your check is in the mail.” (snicker)

[soycd]

FUEU&EC

[Enchante]

I like what makes Tim Cook and Apple squirm, but the EU is a monstrous dishonest Orwellian bureaucracy that should not be allowed to re-write the rules retroactively. So I guess I have to root for Apple on this one, although without much enthusiasm.

[Moltke]

...to shield overseas profits from taxation by the EU...

That seems to be a misrepresentration, whether by agenda or ignorance. The EU does not tax corporations or individuals. It does, however, oversee that national tax laws are applied correctly.

https://europa.eu/european-union/topics/taxation_en

[Swordmaker]

That seems to be a misrepresentation, whether by agenda or ignorance. The EU does not tax corporations or individuals. It does, however, oversee that national tax laws are applied correctly.

Not even that. The nations in the EU are guaranteed Taxation Autonomy by the treaty that created the EU in the first place. The Commission that is pulling his is the Antitrust commission. There is no trust question here.

[minnesota_bound]

I want Apple to pay (just because) as the company supports the socialists here.
If they do not want to pay more then they should stop supporting the democrat party.

[Moltke]

So it is a fact that the EU does not directly tax individuals or corporations. Which was my point vs. the claim in the posted article. No need to go further than that.

Are the EU big-wigs and associated institutions the scum of the earth, ever over-reaching their purview? - yes, of course. A pox on the lot of them!