[dosycorp]

You have to hand it to the Irish. As a plan to collect more tax in the long term, offering (effectively) tax free status by not enforcing "Double Irish w/ Dutch Sandwich", to attract big players, letting them dig themselves into tax-debt holes for a few years while letting them feel they will get off scott-free, then enforcing it and securing a deal to get back-taxes paid, is pretty genius. Very stable genius to help rebuild their economy that was pretty crushed after 2008.

[neilc]

Ireland is not "enforcing" anything; the European Commission are the party that ruled that Apple received unfair tax treatment. Both Apple and the Irish government are appealing that ruling.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-apple-taxavoidance/ire...

[dosycorp]

Yeah, sure. That was a condition by IE of the EU bringing this ruling. "You have to make us look culpable as well, it's just better for business." You really don't think that's how it works? You're too naive!

[TazeTSchnitzel]

It's not Ireland trying to make Apple pay back-taxes! The European Commission is forcing Ireland to charge Apple them.

[dosycorp]

Come on. IE is not double dealing to the EU for a bit of kick back somehow? Of course they are. That EU is "forcing" them is hilarious. IE loves to play a fake victim if they can, and in this case, all the better to be open for business. "Oh, EU, please stop getting me to get Apple to pay me taxes. Please stop making me collect revenue." Said no state ever. But believe their fake victim tale if you want. The Irish are clearly too clever for you!

[dang]

Nationalistic flamewars, which this crosses into, are definitely not ok on HN. Please don't post like this again, and avoid unsubstantive comments on divisive topics generally. This is in the site guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

[derriz]

I tried to ignore it but I cannot - this is a ugly comment. And for hackernews it's devoid of fact or even interesting opinion. It uses a familiar tactic commonly associated with bigots: don't agree that there's a global Zionist conspiracy to rule the world? - the Jews are clearly too clever for you. Don't believe that the Roma are immigrating en-mass with the plan to displace the natives? - the Gypsies are too clever for you. Rounded off with the suggestion that the Irish as a whole have obvious negative personality traits.

And your theory is as outlandish as any global Jewish conspiracy stuff. An entire nation of people from across the political and social spectrum have connived to defraud the rest of the world based on a sneaky tax-policy plan enacted over 3 decades ago which has survived 2 European treaties, 5 changes of government and requires the entirity of the "Irish" to be liars. It's an ugly comment with even uglier undertones.

[jamesblonde]

Actually, the revenue won't end up in ireland. All member states will send a bill to ireland, and ireland will split up the money to them (based on Apple's relative sales around Europe).

[pjc50]

Where's that in the ruling?

[dosycorp]

That is interesting. There has to be a way that IE gets a significant cut from the Apple money tho. I'd be very surprised if there wasn't. That or in future the recompensated EU members agree to invest more in IE.

[jamesblonde]

The EU has rules. What govt would invest in ireland? How - what instrument of govt? That's not going to happen. The commission will issue a ruling on the destination of the revenue and that will be that.

[dosycorp]

EU members companies.

Come on about rules tho, man. History is messy. People are stupid and evil ( as well as good, obviously ). We live in an age where we have a great pretence of goodness, but really our nature is the same. I'm sure there a lot of double dealing happening behind the veneer of rules. And I think you're naive/uneducated in history if you think not.

[rbanffy]

I assume Apple sells a lot here - the tech community, at least in Dublin, is enormous and Apple seems to be extremely popular among geeks, which, it seems, are a sizeable part of the overall population.

[Letmesleep69]

This comment really demonstrates a lack of knowledge and understanding of the situation. Not to HN standards.

[dosycorp]

Probably. What do I know. Not an expert.

[paublyrne]

That's not at all what's happening here.

[dosycorp]

Of course it's not.

[rbanffy]

Then why say it?

[dosycorp]

No my 'of course its not' was sarcastic.