The European Commission has an in-depth investigation is welded to the taxation policy of the Irish government with regard to Apple. Examined, among others, Ireland or the group tax relief provided what if unauthorized aid, can be seen.
The formal investigation into Apple is one of three formal investigations into possible state aid through tax rulings by member states. Also the policy of the Netherlands with regard to Starbucks is under the microscope. Apple is one of the founding fathers considered the system of belastingtrucs that the double Irish arrangement is called.
Through tax arrangements with Ireland-based subsidiaries, brievenbusmaatschappijen, know Apple’s international profits by locks to high tax rates to evade it. This does concern, is legal, but the practice received in the past few years, more and more critics. Many large multinationals use similar structures. The U.s. senate according to a study last year that Apple in four years, no taxes had to be paid on an amount of 44 billion.
“According to the EU state aid rules, national authorities cannot take measures allowing certain companies less taxes have to pay than would be the case if the tax rules of the state fairly and without discrimination were applied”, explains Joaquín Almunia, vice-president of the European Commission. The commission says to fear that Ireland is Apple a selective advantage has been granted, “making Apple’s tax burden is decreased to below the level that a proper application of the tax rules would have had to pay’.
Among other things, the individual rules of the Irish tax authorities on the calculation of the taxable profit allocated to the Irish branches of Apple Sales International and Apple Operations Europe, are examined. Ireland has always denied special agreements with Apple to have about the tax rules. At the end of last year, the country have rules changed that the double Irish arrangement partly impossible.
Should the European Commission come to the conclusion that there was unlawful state aid, than can, in theory, a recovery of Apple to follow. In practice, this is never applied, because difficult to prove that a company knew that it was unauthorised state aid.
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