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Apple engage(ds) in aggressive tax planning - and they, along with FBK, Google, etc - deserve to be smacked down with a heavy bill. An effective tax rate of 0.
by noir-york 10y ago
Apple engage(ds) in aggressive tax planning - and they, along with FBK, Google, etc - deserve to be smacked down with a heavy bill.
An effective tax rate of 0.005% - when your next door business neighbour is paying 20% - is morally wrong and damaging to society and the common good.
- madeofpalk 10y agoMorals are irrelevant in this story. Tax law is a system of rules. There should be no second arbitrary standard people (and companies) should be expected to follow.
- noir-york 10y agoHow a country chooses to tax, and where and on who the tax burden falls, is a political matter, and thus has a moral dimension.
- cryoshon 10y ago>Morals are irrelevant in this story. ah, the capitalist angle. unfortunately, the consequences of acting this way are poor for the rest of society.
- madeofpalk 10y agoChange the laws to suit the morals most have.
- andrepd 10y agoI wish I could, unfortunately I have no power or money, while multinationals have armies of lobbyists and bags of money a la Scrooge McDuck to help write the laws to suit them.
- HelloMcFly 10y agoAh yes, because laws are totally independent of morals. I'm clearly being facetious. Laws are the manifestation of morals, either collective or of highly influential individuals. But, to your point, laws are the non-arbitrary manifestation of those morals. Indeed there should be no unwritten standard as well. In this case, there wasn't: the Irish laws did not comply with EU law, and EU law take precedence in this matter. Apple should have known that was a possibility, and probably did know but hoped (and lobbied) for the best.
- iaskwhy 10y agoThis is not true. There's always the spirit of the law and this is checked by a group of people with that power, the juries.
- Hermel 10y agoMorals are very relevant when deciding what's right and what's wrong. In this particular case, I fully support the European Commission. Note that there are laws against setting up artificial corporate structures with the sole purpose of circumventing taxes, and that's exactly what Apple did (with the help of the Irish tax bureau). The only problematic thing here is that Apple is being made an example of. There are many other companies that are doing the same. But it makes sense to handle the largest cases first.
- NegativeK 10y agoWhy not? Rigid adherence to rules without consideration of what's going on doesn't usually end up with a better place.
- zepto 10y agoYou seem to be advocating that those in positions of power shouldn't have to adhere to the rules. That doesn't usually end up with a better place.
- smcl 10y agoThat's obviously not what the parent post meant and you know it
- zepto 10y agoActually, it's not obvious at all. The parent is suggesting that the EU should not adhere tax law as written and should instead attempt to impose it's morality.
- NegativeK 10y agoI'm advocating that Apple bone up and pay taxes, even if there's a way out.
- zepto 10y agoThey do pay taxes. You are advocating that they should pay taxes that they don't owe because an EU bureaucrat wants to increase the power of the EU against the sovereignty of the individual states, in this case Ireland.
- goodbye-w0rld 10y agoHow is it morally wrong to pay fewer taxes than your neighbor? Apple's job is to enrich their shareholders. They have no second allegiance to country or continent. It's morally wrong for them to pay taxes into a bureaucratic system instead of investing in R&D, operations, and shareholder returns. Fair societies don't mean equal societies. Apple creates more, and better, jobs than the book store they shut down to open a showroom.
- goodbye-w0rld 10y agoThere is nothing in the world that makes me more mad than a bunch of bureaucrats, that have produced nothing for anyone, demanding resources from the employees of Apple, who are working to create products that consumers want in exchange for wealth. This is a direct assault on all employees of Apple and the work that they do with the understanding that they will be able to retire comfortably. Unbelievable greed on the behalf of a society that works fewer hours than any other.
- pravda 10y ago>demanding resources from the employees of Apple They are doing nothing of the sort. They are demanding 'resources' (money) from the shareholders. So please, don't be mad.
- noir-york 10y agoIt is morally wrong to pay a lower tax rate than your neighbour. If Apple were investing their money into R&D, operations or higher pay checks no one would be complaining. But they're engaging in aggressive tax planning merely to hoard the cash. > Apple creates more, and better, jobs than the book store they shut down to open a showroom. It's not about Apple's showroom vs book store. Its about Apple's massive cash pile vs hospital services/fire brigade/police dept/infrastructure etc. Those are essential services, and jobs, too.
- jandrese 10y agoBecause it means the ethical company that pays its taxes has to pay for a disproportionate share of the roads, parks, schools, etc... The unethical company gets a competitive advantage in ditching their obligations to the country like a deadbeat dad.