Funny that even the corrupt (to the bone marrow level) US president took side tax dodger Apple, Inc when this company was accused by EU of cheating huge tax while operating out of its Ireland facility.
The US Treasury Department has warned about possible retaliation if the European Commission pursues American companies like Apple, Amazon and Starbucks over tax avoidance.
The EU has been investigating whether Apple’s tax dealings in Ireland, which allowed the company to pay very little income tax for its European earnings, violated European rules. Apple is suspected of using loopholes in tax laws and paying just two percent tax in Ireland, well below the official 12.5 percent. The decision is expected to be announced next month.
The Obama administration warned the EU that the investigation could “create an unfortunate international tax policy precedent.” According to the document from the US Treasury, Brussels is taking on the role of a “supranational tax authority” overriding the tax codes of its member countries.
“This shift in approach appears to expand the role of the Directorate-General for Competition beyond enforcement of competition and state aid law . . . into that of a supranational tax authority that reviews member state” decisions on corporate tax, it said.
The US also criticized Brussels for setting unfair and “disturbing” precedents and singling out US companies.
Apple has been accused of funneling billions of dollars into Ireland, known for its lucrative tax rates. JP Morgan, which is working for Apple, said the tech company could face a bill for $19 billion in a worst-case scenario.
Amazon and McDonald's are also being investigated by the EU, while Starbucks faces back taxes of up to €30 million.
Apple have refused to comment on the tax bill, saying it doesn’t discuss specific cases, according to FT. The company wasn’t slow to find the funds, however, with reports indicating that the money has already been paid.
In August, the European Commission ruled that Apple owed the Irish government up to €13 billion ($14.6 billion) to cover the unpaid tax.
It was the found that the company had received "selective treatment" which had allowed them pay a tax rate of one percent on EU profits in 2003 down to 0.005 percent in 2014.
Both Apple and the Irish government have signaled plans to appeal the ruling, claiming no laws had been broken.
Apple biggest tax avoider in US stashing $215bn offshore
A new study reveals Fortune 500 companies are holding nearly
$2.5 trillion in accumulated profits offshore to pay less tax. Top is
Apple which since 2009 funneled $214.9 billion to tax havens and would
owe $65.4 billion if the profits returned to the US.
The report was
published just weeks after a European investigation concluded Ireland
provided Apple with a favorable tax rate which allowed the company to
pay one percent on EU profits in 2003 down to 0.005 percent in 2014.
Apple is now obliged to pay $14.5 billion in back taxes.
The $215 billion Apple booked offshore through three tax havens last
year is bigger than the gross domestic product of Portugal, Greece or
New Zealand. If the company returned the earnings to the US and paid the
$65.4 billion in tax, it would have been more than economies of
Belarus, Uruguay or Croatia.
According to the authors, the second biggest tax avoider is
pharmaceutical giant Pfizer with 181 offshore subsidiaries and almost
$194 billion of profits booked offshore.
Number three is Microsoft with five tax haven subsidiaries and $124 billion of profits held offshore.
Sneaker
giant Nike holds $10.7 billion offshore and would owe $3.6 billion in
US taxes. One of the authors of the report, Citizens for Tax Justice,
has noted that Nike’s offshore companies in Bermuda are named after its
own brands, like Air Max Limited, Nike Cortez, Nike Flight, Nike Force,
Nike Huarache, Nike Jump Ltd., Nike Lavadome, Nike Pegasus, Nike
Tailwind and Nike Waffle.
Goldman Sachs holds $28.6 billion offshore, but “reports
having 987 subsidiaries in offshore tax havens, 537 of which are in the
Cayman Islands despite not operating a single legitimate office in that
country, according to its own website.”
Overall, if all the
Fortune 500 companies paid taxes on their profits in the US, the country
would get an additional $717.8 billion. In 2015, the US budget deficit
stood at $438 billion.
The royalties earned should have been subject to a 20.42 per cent withholding tax but instead, as the royalties were earned through iTunes software built into the iPhone, the money was included into the cost of buying an iPhone handset, according to FT.
Through the intricate tax avoidance system in place, Apple is then able to funnel these royalty payments into their Irish holding company, where they are subject to very low tax.
Apple ordered to repay record €13bn to cover unpaid EU tax
Apple was attributing its profits to a "head office" in Cork that had no employees, premises or any economic activity, and paid almost no tax, said Vestager.
The 130-page ruling on Apple's Irish operations was published on Tuesday following a three-year investigation.
“I disagree profoundly with the commission’s decision,” said Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan, adding that the country’s tax system leans on the law “without exception.”
According to a FT source familiar with the matter, Apple would have to restate its accounts as a result of the ruling. The US company allegedly paid tax at a rate of one percent, well below Ireland’s then official 12.5 percent corporate tax.
The investigation was accompanied by strong warnings from Washington not to fine American companies. The US Department of Justice accused the European Commission of becoming a “supranational tax authority” overriding the tax codes of its member countries. The Obama administration warned the EU that the investigation could “create an unfortunate international tax policy precedent.”
The European Commission accused Ireland in 2014 of dodging international tax rules by allowing Apple to funnel tens of billions of dollars of European profits into the country in return for maintaining jobs. Apple has rejected the decision and said it will appeal.
"The European Commission has launched an effort to rewrite Apple’s history in Europe, ignore Ireland’s tax laws and upend the international tax system in the process. The Commission’s case is not about how much Apple pays in taxes, it’s about which government collects the money. It will have a profound and harmful effect on investment and job creation in Europe," a statement from Apple said.
The multibillion dollar penalty for Apple will be much bigger than fines on other US companies such as Starbucks and Fiat Chrysler. The European watchdog had previously ordered the Netherlands and Luxembourg to recover €30 million in unpaid taxes from the coffee company and car maker.
The biggest penalty to date involved EDF, the French energy group, which was ordered to repay €1.4 billion.
The royalties earned should have been subject to a 20.42 per cent withholding tax but instead, as the royalties were earned through iTunes software built into the iPhone, the money was included into the cost of buying an iPhone handset, according to FT.
Through the intricate tax avoidance system in place, Apple is then able to funnel these royalty payments into their Irish holding company, where they are subject to very low tax.
Apple ordered to repay record €13bn to cover unpaid EU tax
RT : 30 Aug, 2016
The European Commission ruled on Tuesday that "selective
treatment" by Ireland allowed Apple to pay a tax rate of one percent on
EU profits in 2003 down to 0.005 percent in 2014. The US company has
been ordered to pay up to €13 billion to cover the unpaid tax.
“Member States cannot
give tax benefits to selected companies – this is illegal under EU state
aid rules. The Commission’s investigation concluded that Ireland
granted illegal tax benefits to Apple, which enabled it to pay
substantially less tax than other businesses over many years. In fact,
this selective treatment allowed Apple to pay an effective corporate tax
rate of one percent on its European profits in 2003 down to 0.005
percent in 2014,” said EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager EU
in a press release before her speech.Apple was attributing its profits to a "head office" in Cork that had no employees, premises or any economic activity, and paid almost no tax, said Vestager.
The 130-page ruling on Apple's Irish operations was published on Tuesday following a three-year investigation.
“I disagree profoundly with the commission’s decision,” said Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan, adding that the country’s tax system leans on the law “without exception.”
According to a FT source familiar with the matter, Apple would have to restate its accounts as a result of the ruling. The US company allegedly paid tax at a rate of one percent, well below Ireland’s then official 12.5 percent corporate tax.
The investigation was accompanied by strong warnings from Washington not to fine American companies. The US Department of Justice accused the European Commission of becoming a “supranational tax authority” overriding the tax codes of its member countries. The Obama administration warned the EU that the investigation could “create an unfortunate international tax policy precedent.”
The European Commission accused Ireland in 2014 of dodging international tax rules by allowing Apple to funnel tens of billions of dollars of European profits into the country in return for maintaining jobs. Apple has rejected the decision and said it will appeal.
"The European Commission has launched an effort to rewrite Apple’s history in Europe, ignore Ireland’s tax laws and upend the international tax system in the process. The Commission’s case is not about how much Apple pays in taxes, it’s about which government collects the money. It will have a profound and harmful effect on investment and job creation in Europe," a statement from Apple said.
The multibillion dollar penalty for Apple will be much bigger than fines on other US companies such as Starbucks and Fiat Chrysler. The European watchdog had previously ordered the Netherlands and Luxembourg to recover €30 million in unpaid taxes from the coffee company and car maker.
The biggest penalty to date involved EDF, the French energy group, which was ordered to repay €1.4 billion.
Washington threatens Brussels over plan to demand billions in unpaid taxes from Apple
RT : 25 Aug, 2016The US Treasury Department has warned about possible retaliation if the European Commission pursues American companies like Apple, Amazon and Starbucks over tax avoidance.
The EU has been investigating whether Apple’s tax dealings in Ireland, which allowed the company to pay very little income tax for its European earnings, violated European rules. Apple is suspected of using loopholes in tax laws and paying just two percent tax in Ireland, well below the official 12.5 percent. The decision is expected to be announced next month.
The Obama administration warned the EU that the investigation could “create an unfortunate international tax policy precedent.” According to the document from the US Treasury, Brussels is taking on the role of a “supranational tax authority” overriding the tax codes of its member countries.
“This shift in approach appears to expand the role of the Directorate-General for Competition beyond enforcement of competition and state aid law . . . into that of a supranational tax authority that reviews member state” decisions on corporate tax, it said.
The US also criticized Brussels for setting unfair and “disturbing” precedents and singling out US companies.
Apple has been accused of funneling billions of dollars into Ireland, known for its lucrative tax rates. JP Morgan, which is working for Apple, said the tech company could face a bill for $19 billion in a worst-case scenario.
Amazon and McDonald's are also being investigated by the EU, while Starbucks faces back taxes of up to €30 million.
Apple hit with $118mn tax bill in Japan after funneling money through Ireland
RT : 16 Sep, 2016
Apple’s tax bills continue to mount after yet another
multi-million penalty was handed down to an iTunes unit in Japan. A
total of $118 million (12 billion yen) is owed after it was found the
company was funneling money through Ireland.
After investigating the
company, the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau found that the royalties
earned from fees paid by Apple iTunes subscribers in Japan were withheld
from the exchequer, with the money instead channeled through a
licensing firm owned by Apple in the Republic of Ireland.Apple have refused to comment on the tax bill, saying it doesn’t discuss specific cases, according to FT. The company wasn’t slow to find the funds, however, with reports indicating that the money has already been paid.
In August, the European Commission ruled that Apple owed the Irish government up to €13 billion ($14.6 billion) to cover the unpaid tax.
It was the found that the company had received "selective treatment" which had allowed them pay a tax rate of one percent on EU profits in 2003 down to 0.005 percent in 2014.
Both Apple and the Irish government have signaled plans to appeal the ruling, claiming no laws had been broken.
Selected Readers' Comments:
# That's the American way of life. No social responsibility whatsoever. Making money is the be and end all with a little hypocritical Christianity thrown in for good measure.
# In the meantime, every hard working American is threatened with prison if doesn't pay the tax. Still no money for fresh water for Flint. The greed turned USA into third world country, pretty soon same greed will destroy it.
# Apple is just one of Big Americanski Tax Criminals. Other Big Names are not better.
White House is the biggest Money Laundry Machine ever!
# Apple is not a company it is a tool to control people!
Tax is for citizens not for the elite the western so called democracies are totally corrupted.
# $215B stashed tax havens and the greedy btrds won't agree to pay $14B in EU taxes? Pfftt... I won't be buying Apple....
# It is easier to tax the poor. In this neo-liberal world only Capital is free but all of us are becoming slaves to corporations scheme.
# We the people are the sacrificial lambs on the altar of Capitalism.
# So what if if they paid the tax? That's only a one time magic number that won't make a difference in the grand scheme of things considering the debt surpasses that many times over.
Things will continue like this in the US until the last minute and when the bubble bursts, al those 1% with dual nationalities will just bail out and live in their lavishly built castles and mansions overseas while reading the news and smiling at all memories they made off the back of the yanks.
# Immediately arrest the chief executives and board members and their accountants on national security grounds, unless they pay up are indefinitely confined without trial nor risk of parole and all of their personnel asserts seized.They did it with Al Capone these are no different enemies of the state.
# This is why they're so desperately in hate with Trump. Their cronies in Washington have the same dislike of the American people they do and have been allowing them to get away with this for years. It's the 1% who purchased all the media and bought up every independent outlet with any credentials so they could put them out of business or keep them as a propaganda arm for themselves. The politicians haven't been interested in breaking up their monopoly and in return they support the crooked politicians. They control the narrative and even with the internet, people are too lazy to seek out the truth.
# I'm more surprised that IBM has $68 billion.
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