Apple ordered to pay $15 billion USD for tax evasion

[tracerbullet]

I wasn't blaming Obama.

Then why mention it?

 

[Exterous]

Looks like that is exactly what is going to happen: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/01/appl...iate-billions-of-dollars-to-us-next-year.html

Apple already repatriates 'several billion' per year and has for quite some time. IMO that statement is nothing more than PR fluff given that they repatriate only about 10% of their overseas profits per year

 

[MongGrel]

I wasn't blaming Obama.

Of course you were.

 

[mikeymikec]

They didn't violate the spirit or word of the law. Apple obeyed Irish tax laws and paid the tax due. This is more akin to a store clerk selling a couple grand worth of outfits at the boutique over the course of years. Then from out of the blue the EU comes and invalidates the sales and makes you return all the money on the basis that the woman is in bankruptcy and needs to get approval from the judge to spend more than $50. It's not the store's duty to ensure their customers are obeying some legal agreement they reached with the government, it's the stores' duty to comply with the laws and duties that apply to the store.

Oh please stop with your analogies. Ireland did violate the word of EU law, which they are subject to since they agreed to be an EU state. If the EU was asking for the payment to be backdated to before Ireland was subject to the EU's laws, or before the law in question came into force, then you may have a point, but AFAIK they didn't (they're asking for ten years backdated which is apparently as far as they can ask according to EU law, and Ireland has had the Euro since 1999), so it doesn't.

 

[biostud]

This is a problem but it is hardly limited to Apple. The tax burden will continue it's shift away from big businesses onto smaller ones. Pound for pound the more money you have, the less you pay.

Exactly. It is unfair competition if large companies can get better tax deals than smaller. And once they get so big, they also fall into the category of too big to fail, and still get bailed out by the countries (where they have avoided tax paying) if they are close to fail. This is where EU can rule against large co-operations taking advantage of countries that don't have the power to make them pay taxes. Same goes for the Luxembourg deals that many companies have. (All all other tax havens residing inside EU).

 

[Darwin333]

Looks like that is exactly what is going to happen: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/01/appl...iate-billions-of-dollars-to-us-next-year.html

This means that they have to pay taxes on those dollars, at somewhere around 35ish% minus what they have already paid to other countries on the same money, right?

Another question is, other than the obvious of reinvesting it into the company, how exactly do they enjoy those profits without bringing them into the US and being subjected to the tax?

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I read yesterday that Amazon has a similar set up. They are expecting to get fined about 1.5 Billion.
Sorry no link I can't remember where I saw it.

 

[theeedude]

There isn't really a tax dodger Republicans don't like. Then they wonder why the rich are getting richer while they are getting hosed.

 

[Sonikku]

I'm guessing this is all the EU. The US doesn't seem to have the balls anymore to hold big money accountable.

 

[MongGrel]

There isn't really a tax dodger Republicans don't like. Then they wonder why the rich are getting richer while they are getting hosed.

Somehow, that made little to no sense to me.

 

[theeedude]

I'm guessing this is all the EU. The US doesn't seem to have the balls anymore to hold big money accountable.

Yep, Apple is claiming to the EU that this offshore money should not be taxed because it is supposed to be going to the US. Instead of asking Apple where the money is being taxed, US is bashing EU for doing so.