Was Apple's European Tax Avoidance Wrong?

[Palumboism]

WSJ
Apple’s Tax Avoidance Illustrates Gap Between Law and Economics
[snip]
According to the EC, Ireland issued Apple tax rulings in 1991 and 2007 that enabled it to allocate profits on European Union sales to an internal “head office” that existed only on paper and wasn’t taxable under a provision of Irish tax law that is no longer in force. As a result, it says, Ireland’s effective tax rate on Apple’s European profits was 0.005%, far below the official 12.5% corporate tax rate.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/apples-tax-avoidance-illustrates-gap-between-law-and-economics-1473264984



Essentially, what Apple did was book the income derived from sales made in the EU to an off shore ghost corp not affiliated with any country.  Was Apple wrong in doing this?

[Erik C]

NO!

[Palumboism]

NO!

I completely agree!  I don't believe there should be a corporate tax. 

[Slapper]

What gets me is that the Irish government is going to appeal the sanction on behalf of Apple.

You can't fucking make this up!

[sync pulse]

Decidedly yes!

[_bruce_]

No but it is a slap in the face of those who can't successfully circumvent the system.
Also it's a huge "enterprise" and most likely donating money for the wrong cause(s).

[Red Hook]

I completely agree!  I don't believe there should be a corporate tax. 

OK great, why not? can you expand on this a bit?
does this include capital gains as well?


What about 1099 S corps?  essentially I start a company and tell my boss to pay that company instead of paying me? should that be tax exempt as well?

[_bruce_]

OK great, why not? can you expand on this a bit?
does this include capital gains as well?


What about 1099 S corps?  essentially I start a company and tell my boss to pay that company instead of paying me? should that be tax exempt as well?

Hi Steve, 
please give some examples for the uninitiated...

[Red Hook]

Hi Steve, 
please give some examples for the uninitiated...

Steve?   

[_bruce_]

Steve?   

getbig can be quite the Ouija board...

"Steve... was it really necessary to sell it for 666.66$?"

*bowl of wax fruit rattles*

[falco]

More strange than that is germany dictating what a soberan country like Ireland must do or don't do.

[ProudVirgin69]

More strange than that is germany dictating what a soberan country like Ireland must do or don't do.

You're really stretching the definition of "sovereign country"

[Red Hook]

getbig can be quite the Ouija board...

"Steve... was it really necessary to sell it for 666.66$?"

*bowl of wax fruit rattles*

Ok, may your day be filled with grapefruit and white towels.. and ofcourse ice machines in the Vegas Mirage.

[Erik C]

What gets me is that the Irish government is going to appeal the sanction on behalf of Apple.

You can't fucking make this up!

Of course Ireland is appealing the sanction. The EU said that the revenues that Ireland got from their tax deal with Apple were illegal, and have to be returned to Apple, to be redistributed to the other countries who "deserved" to get the revenue, along with much more money from Apple. It's been estimated, no one knows for sure, that Ireland will be out $4 billion US Dollars. Hell yeah they're appealing!

[Palumboism]

OK great, why not? can you expand on this a bit?
does this include capital gains as well?


What about 1099 S corps?  essentially I start a company and tell my boss to pay that company instead of paying me? should that be tax exempt as well?

I'm not including capital gains tax.  I don't believe they tax the corporate earnings and the dividends. They should just tax dividends.  

S corps pass corporate earnings on to the owners as income, so that's already taxed.

If someone wants to start a company and use the companies income to buy a house and pay themselves one dollar a year.  In the short term they may be able to avoid taxes, but in the long term the company will go broke and the house belongs to the company and can be taken creditors.