latifbp

cnocbui said:

williamh said:

cnocbui said:

latifbp said:

Ok Euros. You still not really value or appreciate now 7000 jobs in Ireland? Still want to degrade and devalue what Apple is contributing to Ireland?

Let me explain how this works as simply as I can:   All the foreign companies that have a presence in Ireland, are here because they see an advantage to themselves, not because they are doing Ireland a favour out of the goodness of the hearts that none of them have.

For sure they are all most welcome and Ireland would indeed be more stuffed than it is without the employment they provide, but this is not a one-way street.  There is also benefit for the companies, otherwise they wouldn't be here.

Duh, all of us dummies thought Apple was there just as a humanitarian gesture. No. Some of us question whether Apple is actually getting the benefit they sought. If the deals they made are going to be broken by the EU, if Apple is treated like a tax cheat and made to pay billions they did not owe, then one may reasonably question whether their presence in Ireland makes sense. 

It appears Apple and the Irish government did a deal that was in breach of EU law.  What would happen in the US if a state did a deal with a company and  told them they could ignore a federal law and dump toxic waste, or something similar?   Would the federal government say; 'you guys did a deal and now thousands of US citizens are dying from cancer from polluted groundwater, no sweat, that's cool since you did a deal.'?  Is that how it would go down?

singularity said:

latifbp said:

Rayz2016 said:

The EU is not retroactively changing a tax rule. It has always been illegal to offer preferential tax treatment to one company over another. If this is the case then the EU can ask that Ireland demand the money from Apple. 

However, the EU has to prove that the Ireland has not given the same deal to other multinationals. Ireland says this is the same deal everyone gets. 

The U.S. and the EU have been negotiating how to revise the corporate tax system to fit into the new global economy we're entering. This, as Lew stated, threatens to undermine the very revision that our two economic powers have been hashing out for some time. To take this action at this late hour shows contempt by the EU for agreements we have been trying to finalize for a while now. It's just an asshole move. Still nobody can identify one European company that was harmed by this tax deal, or one Euro company whose ability to compete was undermined due to this arrangement... And as Sog pointed out no proof other companies could not get such a deal.

How would anyone on a tech forum know if any company suffered? People can theorise but no one has proof unless they have a source of confidential financial information. But that is a false herring as it doesn't matter if any company suffered or not if the rules were broken.

Rayz2016 said:

sog35 said:

cnocbui said:

Apple and the Irish government did have an arrangement that was in breach of EU regulations concerning unfair competition.  It will be found to be illegal state aid.  There will be a finding and the Irish government will be required to collect the taxes Apple should have paid without the arrangement.  That sum will run into the billions, not millions.  End of.

Why is it that so many people can not seem to grasp what the issue actually is and seem completely obsessed that this is about taxation, when it isn't?

Prove that Apple broke EU regulations.

Prove that other companies could not have done EXACTLY what Apple had done. Apple did not break a single Irish Tax law, so other companies could have done the exact same thing.

And if what Apple/Ireland did was illegal why didn't the EU say anything for OVER A DECADE! Its flat out ridiculous.  Don't give me this crap that the EU did not know what Apple was doing. Apple is Ireland's #1 net profit corporation. So don't tell me Apple just slipped through the cracks. 

Trust me if the EU says Apple owes BILLIONS its going to mean war.

You will see THOUSANDS of American companies leave the EU. 
You will see HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of jobs leave the EU.
You will see HUNDREDS of BILLIONS in investment leave the EU.

If the EU can retroactively change tax rules at a whim, no US company will want to do anything in such a POS place.

And even if the EU decides Apple owes Billions you can bet your ass Apple will appeal this decision for YEARS.
The EU will never get their billions from Apple and they will lose every single US company also.

The EU is not retroactively changing a tax rule. It has always been illegal to offer preferential tax treatment to one company over another. If this is the case then the EU can ask that Ireland demand the money from Apple. 

However, the EU has to prove that the Ireland has not given the same deal to other multinationals. Ireland says this is the same deal everyone gets. 

cnocbui said:

latifbp said:

Ok Euros. You still not really value or appreciate now 7000 jobs in Ireland? Still want to degrade and devalue what Apple is contributing to Ireland?

Let me explain how this works as simply as I can:   All the foreign companies that have a presence in Ireland, are here because they see an advantage to themselves, not because they are doing Ireland a favour out of the goodness of the hearts that none of them have.

For sure they are all most welcome and Ireland would indeed be more stuffed than it is without the employment they provide, but this is not a one-way street.  There is also benefit for the companies, otherwise they wouldn't be here.

What is it with this DEDesque article that initially gives the impression Apple needed permission from someone to expand it's workforce?  It's always got to be made out that the entire world is against Apple but that they miraculously prevail against all the evil forces opposing them.  Apple applied for planning permission to build more buildings and it was given approval.  That isn't close to being the same thing as implying Apple needed permission to employ more people.