JWSC

About

Username
JWSC
Joined
Visits
76
Last Active
Roles
member
Points
2,494
Badges
1
Posts
1,203

Reactions

1.8KLike0Dislike109Informative

  • Apple and Ireland win appeal of $14.4B EU tax case

    JWSCJWSC
    razmataz said:

    I wonder if the EU's halfhearted effort to prosecute this has to do with the fact that Ireland is at the front line of Brexit. No need to pile on the small loyal state that will need all the help it can past December 31st. At this time there is a high chance of a closed border between NI and Ireland once the looming hard Brexit comes true. With that would come societal pain, economic pain, geographic isolation, and need for assistance. And hopefully no violence added to the mix. Instead the EU is probably more focused on being more vigilant in preventing such deals in the future. The investigation into this matter started before the Brexit vote, it is a different set of circumstances for Ireland now. Let's see if there is any Brexit deal at all and then how hard the EU appeals this. 
    Margrethe Vestager and the European Commission will have to try an alternate tack if they are to prevail against Ireland and Apple. The court has determined that the evidence they presented did not demonstrate that Ireland gave Apple a special tax deal. That avenue is now closed to them should they chose to appeal the ruling.
    bshankjdb8167

  • EU announces new tax plan that clamps down on digital platforms

    JWSCJWSC
    red oak said:
    It is shocking how little tech has come out of the EU.   Almost zero over the last 10 years.  Way too many bureaucrats foxed on tax grabs and not enough coders.    They work themselves into a box at every opportunity 

    Any tax over reach is simply going to be met with tariffs form the US.   It 's a no win situation (again) 
    Yes, to the casual observer it must seem shocking. But to those who have been paying attention it is no surprise how little innovation has come out of the EU over the years.

    Stifling national and EU wide regulations do not reward risk taking. Cultural and social customs and conventions also discourage those who seek to upend existing market structures. The emphasis is to regulate and protect what exists today, which through regulation significantly hampers the ability of startups to disrupt existing markets and carve out new ones with innovative products or services.
    jbdragongeorgie01anantksundaramMacProwilliamlondon

  • EU announces new tax plan that clamps down on digital platforms

    JWSCJWSC
    ...
    Previous attempts to change EU tax rules have been overruled by the power of veto by member states. The EU is now looking to sidestep that, Reuters reported.
    ...
    If central EU authorities continue down the path of seeking to go around member states because they don’t like the voting outcomes, they will further delegitimize the institution they seek to empower.
    jbdragonJFC_PAchasmMacProwilliamlondon

  • Apple and Ireland win appeal of $14.4B EU tax case

    JWSCJWSC
    davgreg said:
    It is all so stupid.
    Corporations do not pay taxes- they pass them on to the customers.
    And it is absolutely stunning how so many are seemingly incapable of understanding that simple concept. If the fervor to “stick it to the corporation” too many lack the fundamental awareness of where the money comes from.
    cat52patchythepirate

  • Apple and Ireland win appeal of $14.4B EU tax case

    JWSCJWSC
    crowley said:
    aderutter said:
    Good news, it was obvious that the EU were on a money grab and trying to retroactively change the law to do so imho.
    I’m not saying Apple and Ireland will ultimately win even though I do not believe for a minute Apple broke the law.
    I do believe the EU will more than ever given recent economic events do anything they can get to as much as they can from anywhere they can.
    This has been gone over many times, there is no retroactive changing of the law, the law came into force in 1992 (I believe it was Maastricht) and Ireland should have adjusted its tax relationship with Apple at the time.  Just because it has taken a number of years for the case to be brought doesn't mean the law has been changed in any way.  It is Ireland that is accused of breaking EU law, not Apple; Apple was merely the beneficiary.  Also, the EU will not "get" anything much from this -  if Apple and Ireland loses the case then the money held in escrow is payable to the tax authorities in Ireland, not the EU.

    Again, this has been covered many times.  Please stop spreading misinformation.
    No. Ireland should NOT have adjusted their tax rate in 1992. That is a fundamental misreading of the law. Margrethe Vestager misread it and the court agreed. The Maastricht Treaty never mandated tax harmonization between the nations of the EU.

    Excerpt from The Spectator:
    “The EU has been using tech regulation, and competition policy, as a cover for a naked, federalising power grab. Let’s take the Apple case as an example. The company is perfectly entitled to base a lot of its operations in Ireland, which happens to have a very low corporate tax rate (just 12.5 per cent). Low taxes are one of the ways that what used to be a slightly damp island on the far west of Europe has made itself one of the richer countries in the world.”

    Ireland was always perfectly happy with Apple’s taxes. It paid what it owed in full. And Apple was quite happy to base itself there, and employ lots of people. And then the EU came along, and tried to redefine that as 'state aid' and slapped it with a huge bill. It is hardly the first time that has happened. The Commission has already lost a similar case against Starbucks, and Google is quite rightly appealing against the billions in fines that have been imposed upon it (its lawyers must be smiling this morning).”

    Whether you happen to approve of big American companies or not isn’t really the point, whatever the EU’s defenders try to maintain. In reality, under the existing treaties, aside from VAT, Ireland is allowed to charge any taxes it wants. If the Commission wants an EU-wide corporate tax it should argue for it, and change the treaties openly. Instead, it has been trying to do it in secret, and with lots of spin, but, as it has just discovered, without any legal basis.”

    The EU often tries to portray itself as a 'rules-based' organisation. But it is increasingly acting outside the law. It has now lost a whole series of key cases, and in its own courts as well.”
    cat52jony0patchythepirate