[valuearb]

Why? If a company has $200B it wants to deposit in your banks, what tax rate should it pay on the interest on that deposit? If Ireland said 12.5% (which is ridiculously high), Apple would have deposited it somewhere else, outside of the EU likely.

Accepting bank deposits is a good thing, it didn't create any costs for the government of Ireland. On the contrary, it likely funded lots of economic development. Which is exactly why Ireland did and should have offered a near zero tax rate.

[rusk]

> On the contrary, it likely funded lots of economic development

It funded "a little" development. Provided a bunch of jobs down in Cork and the promise of a few more once their (now reneged upon) datacentre came online in Athenry. Nontangibles include putting Ireland on the tech map.

But, whatever the appropriateness of the remuneration for Ireland, the taxation was being applied Europe wide for access to the broader European economy.

So this tax is not only due to Ireland but the European economy as a whole.

I'm sorry if these nuggets of truth get under some people's skins but that's how it is.

[matt4077]

I'm not sure if you're actually ignorant of the argument, or if you just chose to pretend you'd never heard it. But, basically, it is:

The EU has rules to prevent a race to the bottom. In the long term, they are good for every single EU country, because they allow to actually tax companies, instead of lowering taxes to around 0.01 Euros annually otherwise. Yes, Ireland may have made the best offer this time around. But a year later, it would have been Croatia or Luxembourg.

The value of having a base within the EU is shown by Apple going to Ireland, instead of 0-tax jurisdictions like the Caymans. That value, which Apple uses to create its profit, needs to be financed by taxes.

[valuearb]

The EU actually convinced Apple to move their savings to the Isle of Man. That's not a race to the bottom, that's throwing the baby out with the bath water. Taxing bank deposits like you tax an operating business is a ridiculously dumb policy.

[kevin_thibedeau]

They're taxing the interest gained not the deposits just like everyone else has to pay tax on their interest. Fair is fair.

[valuearb]

There are many countries that don't tax the interest on bank deposits, just none in the EU anymore. And those countries are where the EU is driving companies to move their deposits to.

[eksemplar]

For now. We’re not going to continue to let these unethical companies to operate in the EU forever without contributing.

You probably think this sounds silly, but it’s what the majority of the voters here want and the EU though slow is moving with the people not the corporations.

[valuearb]

It's not silly, just dumb. A foreign company that wants to deposit billions in your countries banks without any other services in return is an immense benefit to your country. Trying to tax them for it on top is short sighted and greedy.

[adam_klein]

The Irish Corporation Tax rate is 12.5%, but the interests from bank deposits are subject to the Deposit Interest Retention Tax with the current rate of 39%.

[throwaway2048]

I'm not certain if you are just being obtuse, but the entire arrangement Apple (and other companies) have set up with Ireland, is to avoid taxation inside the EU entirely, that "money deposited" is counted as a loss for other subsidiaries inside the EU and paid as "licensing fees" to Apple Ireland.

[valuearb]

Nope, that's not true. Apple pays billions in income taxes in Britain, France and Germany. This is about where they deposit their after tax earnings.

[rusk]

It kind of is true, perhaps not to the letter, but certainly in principle. As someone not familiar with the nuances of tax legislation as I'd bet a lot of us are, you can chase terminology all day, but ultimately it all boils down to Ireland given Apple discounted access to the European market at a knockdown rate. The specific point at issue, is not the discount though, it's the fact that this discount isn't available to others.

[valuearb]

Nope, has nothing to do with market access. Ireland's tax discount was an incentive for Apple to base their IP there and deposit it's after tax earnings, i.e. foreign earnings after paying corporate income taxes to France, Germany, etc, etc.

Apple paid all the taxes it needed for "market access", this is just a question of what they do with the remaining profits after they paid those taxes. And where they base their IP, which obviously isn't going to be France or Germany.

[rusk]

Yes the reasoning being that they “pay those in the USA” or otherwise they would be paying them in Europe. Now whether or not they actually pay them in the US is another matter but, the manner in which it was determined which taxes should and should not be deferrable is what is at issue.

[Nursie]

You mean employees pay income taxes, don't you?

[valuearb]

Nope, Apple pays corporate income tax in every country where it has a presence.

[Nursie]

There's no such thing as corporate income tax in the UK, not sure about Ireland.

[valuearb]

Ireland is 12.5%

[ZeroGravitas]

And since they conspired to reduce wages they cheat on income taxes paid by their employees too.

[valuearb]

Since Apple has driven up wages in all of it's markets, you mean they conspired to increase taxes paid by it's employees and it's competitors employees.