I feel all of the US based multinationals can't have it both ways...Play accounting games so that they avoid US taxes and then run to court whenever someone threatens one of their patents...Pay up multinationals -- all of you!
The French certainly know how to complain, stand their ground and kick off. Unless it’s against a fascist regime that takes over their country, then they mainly surrender. It’s all coming around again though. By 2020, France will look like Baghdad.
Ireland offered the tax rates to Apple to get them into the country so they have paid their dues. Maybe they should sort their own problems first before sticking their noses into other people’s business.
Hey France, why don’t you all pay us back for all of the soldiers lost liberating your country.
Soldiers? How's about France paying us back for basically rebuilding their entire country?
True, but the human cost was far greater. My grand father was lucky to come home from WW2
And that is the funny part, it is as if WW2 were few hundreds years ago. Not long ago Europe was fighting this war with Germany, or fighting within EU anyway. They call themselves French or German or Brits.
Now they call themselves European and asking for company to pay back the tax they own to a different Nation ( Ireland ) while protesting in France. Funny how fast the world changes.
We have different Nations caring for other part of the world more then they do within their own Nation.
I hope before US get its overseas Tax Reform done they should just do a us tax repatriation holiday and shuts them up. Apple owe Tax to US government, not the EU. ( Although that has all the economics issues problem such as pushing the Dollar value higher.. etc )
Who is behind these protests? They might be some misguided grassroots Marxist organization or they might be George Soros funded.
It is a general feeling in society that a few elitist corporations can do anything they want
The craze against moloch industries (Facebook, Google, Apple...) grabbing everything they can and having more power than complete nations is growing. A feeling of inequality that also motivated Robin Hood and Karl Marx.
Hey France, why don’t you all pay us back for all of the soldiers lost liberating your country.
I guess you have no idea that the French were instrumental in defeating the British in our war of independence. If you doubt me you should check out a history book.
Both, Apple should withdraw from these no good Country....Go and demonstrate in China and see how you’ll last, Apple products are mostly made there.
Wow you just made a point in favor of these protesters. Calling France a "no good country" because its citizens have the right to protest is about as anti freedom as a statement I read here. Then you confirm how wrong you are by suggesting they should demonstrate in China where free speech gets you locked up. So you are in favor of such regimes?
Note to Apple and the politically correct world in general: Don't let a tiny minority of protesters be even a single blip on your radar.
Be happy you still have the right to protests, it is one of the most fundamental right to maintaining an open society and letting the people let their voices be heard.
No, they're a leftist organization that has been active for years. They're not particularly anti-Apple. I guess most of their members are actually Apple-users.
I say close the stores and make them buy in London with British pounds.
And that would accomplish what exactly? Alienate Apple-fans across Europe? Demonstrate Apple's unwillingness to be a decent company, which it mostly is? Apple's not a lowly scumbag company and will never stoop to such ridiculous behavior.
Hey France, why don’t you all pay us back for all of the soldiers lost liberating your country.
Soldiers? How's about France paying us back for basically rebuilding their entire country?
Actually, General De Gaulle did that, using the country's gold reserve. Not mentioning the fact that French nuclear and radar intelligence is instrumental to American weapons (and hence victory). You can't pick-and-choose elements from history. Going further, without French help, there is no America (there is a small statue, on Ellis Island if I'm not mistaken, that reminds New York and America of that small detail). The French are grateful to American soldiers for their courage and help, they're grateful to American business for participating in the rebuilding of Western economy (with tremendous profit for America). That is no reason for Europeans in general to not behave exactly like America, which is demand companies respecting the law. As I remember it, America did not hesitate a decade ago when a French major nuclear company broke American law, and leveled multi-billion dollars fines at it (eventually, causing the transfer of taxpayer-funded strategic military intelligence over to America, which some French people still think should have been vetoed at the highest level, as America would have done - but the USA apparently have more balls than the French do).
The point is: Attac is doing what they think they should do, and they might be wrong about it. France is not Attac, and Apple might be right or wrong in the law's eye, and right or wrong in morality's eye, with of which are not mutually exclusive. Therefore, just let things unfold. Ranting on Ai won't change anything ^^
If anyone can be called a "parasite" it big corporations like Apple which exploit shady tax laws and hide money to tax havens.
There is nothing shady about it; they're not well known to the general public, but tax laws are arcane even when they're well thought off but that doesn't make it shady.
The US's so called "tax reform" (sic) is much more corrupt than anything that currently exists in the EU and its not shady at all, just full of vile and overt corruption.
Basically having the whole US take a loan (issue bonds) to pay for a tax cut to the wealthiest (that includes multinationals ) in the "hope" that money will somehow come back into new physical investment & R&D instead of being piled into the stock market into more leverage, speculation and various pyramid schemes: aka trickle down.
That's a hell of a lot like what happened in the late 1920s btw.
As for France. France has one of highest taxes in the world so I think anyone doing business in France is paying their shares already. They're not even complaining about taxes in their own country, but another one.
I'm a french canadian with extensive links in France, friends and family members, so I know quite well about France.
Apple followed Irish tax laws (so says Ireland), it's the EU that disagrees. This is basically a fight between the EU and the US about taxation (they also don't want internal EU members to offer wildly different tax laws, but the way of going about it retroactively taxing firms and disavowing long standing Irish tax rules, is not a good way to do it). Tax being paid in the country were the value was added is a long standing way to do international taxation, and if you apply what the EU wants to do to smaller firms, it is obvious that it makes no sense. I'd expect Apple and Ireland to make this point in the continuing fight.
If the EU wants to solve the Apple issue, they'll have to negotiate with the US, which right now means talking to a 6 year old man child; a really ugly situation.
Apple followed Irish tax laws (so says Ireland), it's the EU that disagrees. This is basically a fight between the EU and the US about taxation (they also don't want internal EU members to offer wildly different tax laws, but the way of going about it retroactively taxing firms and disavowing long standing Irish tax rules, is not a good way to do it). Tax being paid in the country were the value was added is a long standing way to do international taxation, and if you apply what the EU wants to do to smaller firms, it is obvious that it makes no sense. I'd expect Apple and Ireland to make this point in the continuing fight.
If the EU wants to solve the Apple issue, they'll have to negotiate with the US, which right now means talking to a 6 year old man child; a really ugly situation.
Actually, as you say in the first sentence, if the EU wants to "solve" the Apple issue, they have to negotiate with Ireland. The EU has a problem with what Ireland did, not with US law.
Comments
Unless it’s against a fascist regime that takes over their country, then they mainly surrender.
It’s all coming around again though. By 2020, France will look like Baghdad.
Ireland offered the tax rates to Apple to get them into the country so they have paid their dues.
Maybe they should sort their own problems first before sticking their noses into other people’s business.
Now they call themselves European and asking for company to pay back the tax they own to a different Nation ( Ireland ) while protesting in France. Funny how fast the world changes.
We have different Nations caring for other part of the world more then they do within their own Nation.
I hope before US get its overseas Tax Reform done they should just do a us tax repatriation holiday and shuts them up. Apple owe Tax to US government, not the EU. ( Although that has all the economics issues problem such as pushing the Dollar value higher.. etc )
Good idea. I wish the US did not collect taxes them we would have not army to make the world a more dangerous place.
Standing for what is the law makes them morons?
If anyone can be called a "parasite" it big corporations like Apple which exploit shady tax laws and hide money to tax havens.
Wow you just made a point in favor of these protesters. Calling France a "no good country" because its citizens have the right to protest is about as anti freedom as a statement I read here. Then you confirm how wrong you are by suggesting they should demonstrate in China where free speech gets you locked up. So you are in favor of such regimes?
Be happy you still have the right to protests, it is one of the most fundamental right to maintaining an open society and letting the people let their voices be heard.
Actually, as you say in the first sentence, if the EU wants to "solve" the Apple issue, they have to negotiate with Ireland. The EU has a problem with what Ireland did, not with US law.