4 ms·

This is getting interesting. One of the world's biggest companies is playing the emotions of the citizens of a country, and essentially telling them to distance

This is getting interesting. One of the world's biggest companies is playing the emotions of the citizens of a country, and essentially telling them to distance themselves from the EU. "This would strike a devastating blow to the sovereignty of EU member states over their own tax matters" Maybe this doesn't look _that_ serious to non-EU citizens but given what's happening in Europe in general (nationalist parties on the rise, etc.), I'd be very careful with this approach.

maligree 10y ago
Exactly, that sentence is _such_ a play on current sentiments.
eeeeeeeeeeeee 10y ago
I was thinking the same thing. This letter by Apple appeals to the same feelings that were used to make Brexit happen.
- zigzigzag 10y ago
  It's not an appeal to feelings, it's a statement of fact. The EU was never meant to control member state's tax policies. That's exactly what they are now trying to do. Regardless of whether you feel they're justified or not, Apple's point is sound: it is a loss of sovereignty.
rubber_duck 10y ago
I mean they have very valid point, this entire situation is exactly why Brexit is not unreasonable to me - I still think it's a net loss for everyone but EU is slowly removing sovereignty of member states and centralizing power. So many EU funded programs throwing money around here, if you're entrepreneurial you will have a better time extracting money from EU funds than trying to create actual products. I see a lot of crying about VCs and rich dads burning cash in US, we have government funds going trough corrupt politicians doing that around here.
dtornabene 10y ago
Its incredibly shameful. Thanks for pointing it out, had missed it first time through.
nomercy400 10y ago
Yeah, or maybe tell each EU citizen that Apple owes them 40 euro per year, and they can expect similar amounts from Coca Cola, and Starbucks, and Google, and McDonalds, and ...
robk 10y ago
That's the goal of the EU though over time - to erode the tax sovereignty of member states. It's inevitable.

maligree 10y ago

Exactly, that sentence is _such_ a play on current sentiments.

eeeeeeeeeeeee 10y ago

I was thinking the same thing. This letter by Apple appeals to the same feelings that were used to make Brexit happen.

zigzigzag 10y ago
It's not an appeal to feelings, it's a statement of fact. The EU was never meant to control member state's tax policies. That's exactly what they are now trying to do. Regardless of whether you feel they're justified or not, Apple's point is sound: it is a loss of sovereignty.

rubber_duck 10y ago

I mean they have very valid point, this entire situation is exactly why Brexit is not unreasonable to me - I still think it's a net loss for everyone but EU is slowly removing sovereignty of member states and centralizing power. So many EU funded programs throwing money around here, if you're entrepreneurial you will have a better time extracting money from EU funds than trying to create actual products. I see a lot of crying about VCs and rich dads burning cash in US, we have government funds going trough corrupt politicians doing that around here.

dtornabene 10y ago

Its incredibly shameful. Thanks for pointing it out, had missed it first time through.

nomercy400 10y ago

Yeah, or maybe tell each EU citizen that Apple owes them 40 euro per year, and they can expect similar amounts from Coca Cola, and Starbucks, and Google, and McDonalds, and ...

robk 10y ago

That's the goal of the EU though over time - to erode the tax sovereignty of member states. It's inevitable.