Apple has been ordered to pay up to €13bn (£11bn) in back taxes to Ireland after the European commission ruled that deals between Apple and the Irish tax authorities amounted to illegal state aid.
The commission said Ireland’s tax arrangements with Apple between 1991 and 2015 had allowed the US company to attribute sales to a “head office” that existed on paper only and could not have generated such profits.
Here we look at the reactions you’ve been sharing in the comments to our news story, and an Opinion piece written by Owen Jones who argued that the decision was “tax justice” and a “vindication of protest”.
‘This is a good example of why we need to be in the EU’
‘I don’t think the European Commission’s interference is welcome’
I actually don't agree with this. I think it should be down to individual countries to decide their tax laws. Whilst I am certainly no fan of Apple, I can at the same time see that it has been beneficial to a deprived area, through the creation of much needed jobs.
Whilst in principal I should agree, I just don't think the European Commission's interference in this instance is welcome.
‘Apple is so powerful that I just can’t see the result standing’
Apple is so powerful that I just can't see the result standing. So often it seems to be the case that some miniscule and obscure detail is found that allows the overturning. I would like to see all companies who do this pursued and made to pay what they should have paid.
I was wondering is there a cost-benefit analysis for the long-term of these arrangements? Over the long term, say 30-40 years is the Irish economy really benefitting from such dodgy deals? Have Irish govts been indulging in short-termism?
‘The effect of the ruling is actually quite limited’
The ruling doesn't actually affect Ireland's corporation tax rate of 12.5%, which it's free to set at whatever level it likes. It says that the Irish taxation authorities gave special treatment to Apple which enabled Apple to avoid taxes on large proportions of what should have been taxable profits.
Ireland's low corporation tax rate will remain in place and it will still be possible for multi-national corporations to shift their profits to Ireland to avail of this low tax rate.
The effect of the ruling is actually quite limited, and it won't have a major impact on other corporations.
I hope the European Union's Court of Justice upholds the ruling - a cash injection of up to €13 billion would be a nice boost for the Irish economy.
‘At least Apple employ nearly 6,000 people in Ireland’
Key point to bear in mind is most Apple products are designed and developed in California. Hence tax on profits should be accruing to the US taxpayer in an ideal world. Apple might pay too little tax globally, but that's very different to saying they should be paying it to Ireland.
At least Apple employ nearly 6,000 people in Ireland, and pay hundreds of millions in income tax on salaries as well as sourcing millions in goods and services locally. They also actually manufacture Apple products in Ireland (the only place they do this outside the far east). In that context it's understandable Ireland are on Apples side. When this deal was implemented in the early 1990's, Apple was on its knees financially.
But no no, this is another chance for the Brits to try and scoff at Ireland and try to distract themselves from their own post industrial and post Brexit decline.
‘I don’t know why this ruling is being criticised’
I don't know why this ruling is being criticised by many posting here. This sort of action has been a long time coming and is urgently needed. However, Brexit will unfortunately make it more likely that the UK will become more complicit in corporate tax avoidance and evasion as long as the Tory corporate lackeys are in power. Corbyn want to put a stop to this nonsense, and so should any sane private taxpayer in the UK. The US will be annoyed, because they're eyeing these untaxed profits for their own Federal tax authorities. The more tax paid by Apple in Europe, the less they'll pay to the US when these profits are, eventually, repatriated. Apple, like so many of these large corporations, wants to play by its own rules, time for it an other like minded corporations to learn some new realities. However, in all justice, one has to be a bit sympathetic to Ireland's position, especially in view of how the Eurozone behaved to that country after the 2008 financial crisis.
‘It was just a matter of time’
The European commission have been waiting for an opportunity like this for some time. They really don't like the way Ireland has been trying to tempt companies to Ireland with low corporate taxes and 'special' deals. Effectively Ireland has been undercutting other EU members and it has irritated a lot of other member states. It was just a matter of time.
‘Is this Apple’s or Ireland’s problem?’
This sounds like the Irish govt has dug a deep hole for itself and now the incentives it used to attract multinationals to invest in Ireland seem to be a very fancy scheme that did not comply with its EU membership rules on tax and incentives? So the big question! Is this Apple's or Ireland's problem?
‘Restrict and penalise our great corporations and we all will be poorer’
Apple's paying an astonishing low rate of tax means a higher level of profit for the corporation means higher bonuses for Apple's directors and managers means higher dividend means trickle down affect to hundreds of millions of people everywhere, that is how capitalism works. Restrict and penalise and demonise our great corporations and we all will be poorer.
‘There has to be a way to redistribute this money to where its needed’
The bonkers bit about this is that Ireland does a sweet deal with Apple, so that the company books all its EU profits through that jurisdiction. Then, when the deal is overruled, Ireland effectively gets all the tax on the Europe wide business of the company going back years. There has to be a way to redistribute this money to where its needed in the EU. Perhaps some debt relief for Greece would be nice.
This is a good example of why we need to be in the EU, and why the EU is so necessary. As individual countries, the big corporations can make nations compete with each other to give them the biggest tax-braks, where the EU can stand up to them, and say "If you want to operate in the EU you play by our rules".