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> by letting companies dodge other companies taxes I think you mean "by letting companies dodge other country's taxes"! Not many people here seem to appreciat
by scholia 10y ago
> by letting companies dodge other companies taxes
I think you mean "by letting companies dodge other country's taxes"!
Not many people here seem to appreciate that that's what Apple is doing. It's basically a scam.
(1) Avoid paying taxes in the UK, Germany, France etc by claiming you're taxed in Ireland.
(2) Once in Ireland, channel the money into a fake company (0 staff, 0 offices) that is stateless and isn't taxed anywhere.
> This presents zero problems for Ireland and pisses off other countries.
Exactly. It's a fraud on EU taxpayers outside Ireland. Apple gets all the benefits of state spending in EU countries -- education, health, police, roads etc -- and avoids paying its fair share of the costs.
- Retric 10y ago> I think you mean "by letting companies dodge other country's taxes"! No, I was thinking companies dodge the taxes other companies pay. Saying they dodge other countries taxes is not really correct as these companies are following the other countries tax laws. France etc. could have different laws which prevented companies from benefiting from Ireland's tax laws. Basically, "by claiming you're taxed in Ireland" only works because France, and Germany etc have laws saying it works.
- doikor 10y agoIt works because EU laws says that if you operate in one EU country you can operate in any EU country from it. And due to this EU has very strict laws about giving preferential treatment to companies.
- scholia 10y agoSure. The problem is Apple telling France, Germany etc that they're taxed in Ireland, and then the money not being taxed in Ireland because it's funneled into some stateless figment of Apple's corporate imagination....