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Apple Owes Ireland $14.5 Billion In Taxes, European Commission Says

“I think that is the crux of our concerns about the fairness of this kind of approach”, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday.

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“It’s also possible that the kinds of payments that are contemplated by the European Union decision today, at the end of the day, are merely a transfer of revenue from USA taxpayers to the European Union”, said White House spokesman Josh Earnest in a Tuesday press briefing.

“The ultimate goal should be that all companies, big or small, pay taxes where they generate their profits”. The number is almost double Apple’s net profit for the most recent quarter.

However this goal would require global co-operation, she said.

“Ireland granted illegal tax benefits to Apple, which enabled it to pay substantially less tax than other businesses over many years”, said Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, whose crackdown on mainly USA multinational companies has angered Washington. These then hire contract manufacturers to make devices which they sell to Apple retail subsidiaries around Europe and Asia. This figure is larger than Ireland’s entire corporate tax take in 2015.

Apple said it was confident of winning an appeal.

Apple will reportedly appeal the decision and claims to have paid all taxes in Ireland that the company was due.

“I haven’t heard any European politician come out and say that they sided with the Irish”. The ruling is likely to be appealed by both the Cupertino tech giant and Ireland.

Apple doesn’t want to pay the tax even though the $14.6 billion, plus interest, it might have to repay constitutes just 5% of the $231 billion in cash it has on its books.

The US has been quick to criticise a decision by the European Commission that Apple should pay back taxes in Ireland – saying the move will “undermine foreign investment”.

Badertscher agreed the ruling could discourage US companies from investing in Europe. “If they conclude Apple should have recorded its sales in those countries they could require Apple to pay more tax in that country – that would reduce the amount paid to Ireland”.

The US has acknowledged the problems around the issue of multinational firms obtaining state aid, in the form of secret and extremely lucrative tax breaks, from Ireland, Belgium and Luxembourg for setting up business in those countries.

And the massive $20 billion tax bill levied on the tech giant could set the scene for a titanic battle.

Either way, the EU’s bold move risks fuelling tensions with the USA, which complains that it is singling out American companies.

The report says that for over a decade, Apple paid a very low Irish tax rate on most of its profits outside the U.S. before sending it to a tax haven where it paid no tax at all. In 2003, the Irish government was charging Apple 1 percent on its European profits.

The Irish government held a similar view.

“In the South, we are at the forefront of the fight for the taxes to be collected and used for the betterment of the people”.

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A Treasury representative said on Tuesday that the ruling could “threaten to undermine foreign investment, the business climate in Europe, and the important spirit of economic partnership between the USA and the European Union”.

Apple Can Afford Taxes and Jobs at the Same Time