Apple to Attend EU Hearing on Tuesday to Discuss Taxes

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I'm not talking about changing laws through the legislature, here it would be an EU court ruling that the tax law was invalid. It would be the same as if in the US congress passed a new tax and after someone who payed it sued it was ruled unconstitutional. You would expect in that case the government would be forced to refund the tax revenue after they have used up their appeals. Why should it be any different for a corporation who made an illegal deal with a government so that they didn't have to pay taxes.

You keep saying that Apple made an illegal deal. Maybe I am missing something here. My understanding is that the legislature passed a law and Apple followed it. If Apple made a deal (they signed some agreement) and the deal is found illegal, that is a different matter. I just do not understand it to be an issue of a deal but of law.

 

[0007776]

You keep saying that Apple made an illegal deal. Maybe I am missing something here. My understanding is that the legislature passed a law and Apple followed it. If Apple made a deal (they signed some agreement) and the deal is found illegal, that is a different matter. I just do not understand it to be an issue of a deal but of law.

Ireland has treaties with the EU that may have made the deal they made with Apple for lower taxes illegal. That is a question that the European courts will decide, but if they are found to have given Apple an illegal deal then Apple should pay it back. Alternatively Ireland could decide that the deals with Apple and other large companies are worth more to them than EU membership is and just pull out, but I don't see that option happening.

 

[thewap]

Pay the global masters Apple.

 

[swajames]

You keep saying that Apple made an illegal deal. Maybe I am missing something here. My understanding is that the legislature passed a law and Apple followed it. If Apple made a deal (they signed some agreement) and the deal is found illegal, that is a different matter. I just do not understand it to be an issue of a deal but of law.

There are multiple issues in play.

The most self contained issue is whether beneficial tax deals Ireland made with certain companies amounted to state aid. State aid is illegal under EU rules.

The bigger and broader issue is around the inconsistency and incompatibility in tax laws between countries that creates opportunities for income to potentially escape tax or be taxed in a more beneficial way.

The former issue can be addressed in isolation, the latter issue cannot.

 

[You are the One]

EU wants the dough and will hand it over to Greece.

I think the dough mainly is to feed the obese organisation of unelected technocrats in Brussels.

They are in the business of raping Greece, not in any way helping.

Gee, death threats - how much more devolved can we get?

Relax friend, I was obviously referring to the power structure, not any individual.

 

[rekhyt]

Harmonised means ‘applies to all’. It doesn’t mean that Ireland were not nuder EU rules for the criteria of taxation. Ther are lots of things in the EU no doubt that apply to some countries and not others.
Whatever the outcome Apple knew what they were doing. I would bet money, (and I mean my own money too), that at worst Apple either knew they were doing something underhand and at best they fashioned a deal that whilst not legal, wasn't strictly illegal either. You know, kind of when people teeter so finely on the edge of something it’s difficult to call it one way or the other.

Get your facts straight.

EU does not have tax law under its core and non-core competencies, as provided by the EU treaties (Maastricht, Rome, Lisbon.). Individual Member States within the European Union (Both within, and outside the Eurozone) have their national tax systems.

Therefore regulatory arbitrage can happen, because there is no 'EU tax law' rules as such. Companies are free to establish companies in Ireland and Luxembourg and use their national legal systems, and use that to cover their other European operations and subsidiaries.

If you look closely at how the European Commission is pursuing the cases (Apple, McDonalds, Amazon, ...), they are doing so under EU competition law (As there is no harmonised EU tax law.), under the argument of 'illegal state aid'. Not contravening EU tax law, because that doesn't exist.

What they are doing is not illegal under EU law, and national law. If politicians want to reform it, they should do so via legislation (E.g. EU directives and EU regulations.). But then the companies would then leave the EU, therefore damage employment and tax receipts.

Obligatory 'I am not a (qualified) lawyer' disclaimer.