Apple's Tim Cook to talk with French President Macron on Oct. 9
Apple CEO Tim Cook will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, according to an official agenda item, marking just his second official visit to France as CEO.
The event will take place at 4:15 p.m. local time, or 10:15 a.m. Eastern. No discussion topics have been made public.
Cook could use the opportunity to pressure Macron on taxes, since the French and German governments have been spearheading efforts to close European loopholes used by multinational corporations. Apple in particular has exploited Irish rules to pay taxes as low as 0.005 percent, despite funneling billions of dollars in international revenue through the country.
The Irish government has been ordered to collect at least $15 billion in back taxes from Apple, compensating for what the European Commission has ruled was illegal state aid. The country's slow pace recently resulted in the Commission deciding to take Ireland to court.
Cook will likely address other topics he commonly raises with international leaders, such as educational initiatives and the company's future investments, if any.
The event will take place at 4:15 p.m. local time, or 10:15 a.m. Eastern. No discussion topics have been made public.
Cook could use the opportunity to pressure Macron on taxes, since the French and German governments have been spearheading efforts to close European loopholes used by multinational corporations. Apple in particular has exploited Irish rules to pay taxes as low as 0.005 percent, despite funneling billions of dollars in international revenue through the country.
The Irish government has been ordered to collect at least $15 billion in back taxes from Apple, compensating for what the European Commission has ruled was illegal state aid. The country's slow pace recently resulted in the Commission deciding to take Ireland to court.
Cook will likely address other topics he commonly raises with international leaders, such as educational initiatives and the company's future investments, if any.
Comments
If there is one aspect Tim Cook is clear and honest about (in my opinion sometimes a little too much as a CEO of a tech company/Apple), it's certain social issues. As far as I can assess, he really wants to make a difference in a lot of fields. Also outside the strict technical scope.
C'mon, be specific.
I don't know where you live, but where I do, Tim Cook as CEO is responsible to his shareholders first. Not 'compassion with social issues.' He can run for office if he wants to do that, or start a charity with his own money.
As corpoate law now stand Apple owes France nothing, except tax due on net profit from retail stores. Corporate tax generated from wholesale profits made outside the US is either owed in Ireland or the US ( if repatriated). If it isnt paid in Ireland, it is due in the US when repatriated. If it is paid in Ireland, double taxation laws will mean the US gets less when repatriated but not nothing as the tax rate is higher in the US.
Either way, France isnt, as it now stands, due any corporate tax.
Apple is already the largest US taxpayer, unlike other mega corps who cheated their way to paying 0 and in fact getting a credit (GE, famously in 2010).
As for international taxes all Apple has to do is pay a local tax rate then repatriate foreign earnings back to the US, but the tax law doesn't give a time frame on when you have to do this, thus the offshore holdings while paying (low) taxes in Ireland.
In any event the EU is not accusing Apple of breaking any tax law in the first place, so any taxes they may have to pay is not a penalty. Apple knew the possibility was coming too, mentioning several years ago in their financial footnotes that it could be as much as $30B IIRC, so they certainly were not shocked and surprised that this is an issue.
Common sense tells you that the more aggressively a company (or a person) puts effort into avoiding taxation the higher the likelihood that some of it doesn't pass muster and back taxes might be due.
What Apple and Google and Amazon and other big techs wish to avoid is the current EU proposal that revenues be subject to corporate taxation in the countries where the sale was made or the service rendered, neutering the use of IP and other transfer pricing strategies to shift profits to very low or even 100% non-taxable subsidiaries. With most EU countries in the 20%-30% tax range it would be a significant cost if the law were put into effect.
Get used to the fact that companies are not charities.