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by microtonal 3119 days ago
Western Europe consists of modern welfare states. This is the model that we, Europeans, chose democratically over the span of decades or even centuries. In a welfare state, people and companies that are better off pay (more) taxes to support welfare, education, infrastructure, etc.

Apple doesn't get to decide for us what our collective moral values are. If they don't like them, they should stop doing business in Europe. Otherwise, they should just pay their dues like nearly every person and small/midsize company in Europe does. Since Europe is a hugely profitable market, this is the better option for them.
1 comments
throwaway_f8ed 3119 days ago
This comment comes off as extremely offensive. You are basically saying that you, European people, democratically and unilaterally chose that you can extort people at gunpoint to make better living for yourself, parasiting on other peoples work.

I wouldn't exactly call these values "moral".

Apple should just pull out from Europe.

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microtonal 3119 days ago
This comment comes off as extremely offensive. You are basically saying that you, European people, democratically and unilaterally chose that you can extort people at gunpoint to make better living for yourself,

If you want to do business in a country, you have to live by the laws of the country. If a country's laws specify that a certain percentage of profit should be paid as taxes, it is like it is.

Some countries prefer free-for-all capitalism. Other countries prefer to have state-mandated universal health care, a decent amount of holidays, a certain income for unemployed, etc. Those facilities have to be funded somehow.

I wouldn't exactly call these values "moral".

Sure, for someone who believes in pure capitalism, it is not moral. For someone who believes in social democracy, it is. For a typical EU citizen (making a large generalization), US-style capitalism is immoral. Unfortunately, the US tries very hard to export their model to the rest of the world (which is of course in the interest of the US).

Apple should just pull out from Europe.

Even with the normal taxation tariffs (that smaller companies cannot dodge), Apple will make a large profit in Europe. So, that would be a large loss to them.

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