Apple has benefited from both a favourable Irish tax regime and the notorious “double Irish” scheme, exploiting the fact that revenues declared as earned by subsidiaries or Irish companies outside its territory are not liable to tax.
The double Irish does not exploit the non=territorial nature of Ireland’s tax system. And if we are to accept that Ireland’s tax system is indeed non-territorial then the €13 billion isn’t due, is it?
No, really, she doesn’t get it, does she?
Soon after the referendum, MEPs voted overwhelmingly for a series of measures including a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB), a single set of rules on taxable profits for companies operating within the EU, which can stop tax wars between nations and a race to the bottom in terms of tax rates. George Osborne’s response to this post-Brexit? An announcement that he planned to reduce corporation tax to 18%. When it comes to tackling corporate tax dodging, give me faceless bureaucrats and MEPs over Tories and their corporate cronies any day.
The CCCTB leaves the rate of tax open to hte nation, the definition of what profit to be taxed is what is set by the CCCTB.
Sheesh.
Looks like their research has come from the Wikipedia on the Double Irish:
“Specifically, Ireland has territorial taxation, and does not levy taxes on income booked in subsidiaries of Irish companies that are outside the state”
Someone may correct me, but I didn’t think Ireland does have a territorial tax system. I think it’s got a residence-based one; If a company is tax resident there, it’s taxable on your worldwide profits.
What the double irish used was Ireland’s definition of tax resident; they only used the management and control test, they didn’t have the UK rule that a company incorporated there is automatically resident there. So you could have an Irish-incorporated company that’s run from outside Ireland and wouldn’t have been Irish tax resident.
(Doesn’t work any more for new companies)
“a single set of rules on taxable profits for companies operating within the EU, which can stop tax wars between nations and a race to the bottom in terms of tax rates.”
Because the worst thing in the world is governments raising less tax and hence presumably spending less.
The “Greens” have or used to have a maximum wage policy. Economics isn’t really their thing.
We voted to leave the EU. Why should the chancellor not set a new corporation tax rate? Its not going to matter to the EU.
I thought the Double Irish was “To be sure, to be sure”.
“give me faceless bureaucrats and MEPs over Tories and their corporate cronies any day”
Wut? You want a large state with minimal accountability?
Rob, quite. In the really real world, price wars push businesses to innovate to provide better value for money. Or at least copy the competition’s best ideas, just to keep up. That would be terrible in government, wouldn’t it?
@NielsR
‘Wut? You want a large state with minimal accountability? ‘
That’s precisely what she wants (obviously). The false comparison with ‘Tories and their corporate cronies’ is blowing out of the other end of the dog whistle.
Having had some experience of people at the Green end of the political spectrum, they definitely do have a form of ‘economics’. But it’s the economics of the aristocracy. They just think the peasants should be obliged to provide them with their every whim. Whether said peasants are to do this willingly or not is immaterial.
“give me faceless bureaucrats and MEPs over Tories and their corporate cronies any day”
Which actually means
“Give me foreign rule over being governed by my own people any day”
“This is the Green Party’s leading economist”
faint praise indeed
Ireland does indeed have a territorial tax system, as Richard rightly speculates. Some changes have been made to this in the last two years but the EU ruling deals with the years before that.
However, there are far more important issues at stake her with more wide-ranging consequences than the amounts under discussion. I have tried to address these here:
http://letsexpress.me/2016/09/the-real-apple-issue/
I imagine there would be almost universal approval if the EU slapped a €13bn charge against U2 for their various legal (and self-professed moral) “tax mitigation” arrangements just to shut up that creepy and gobby little shite who wears the sunglasses.
“The EU ruling in this light, threatens to de-rail our one and only industrial revolution”
You can be good Europeans for twenty years and they still fuck you. Anyone, ANYONE who still thinks the EU is a Progressive force for ‘good’ needs their fucking head examined.
And you are a net contributor too. Fuck’s sake.
John Mallon
good perspective – thank you. Maybe the famed Celtic Tiger (or maybe Tigger or Todger) Crescent will rise like a phoenix from the ashes of all the possible recent and future exits
BraveFart – Richard wears sunglasses?
Double Irish?
Presumably, a threesome with two whores in Dublin. Cf. A Thai sandwich….
Martin, it would surprise me if Richard had ever worn sunglasses, or even for that matter a swimming costume.
Clearly from his past blogs Murphy considers consumerism instigated by advertising involving such frivolous products to be anathema when perfectly acceptable substitutes are available such as an old newspaper fashioned into a napoleon hat (and trousers rolled up to the knees just to complete an ideal frugal beach outfit).
Consumerism – other people spending their money on things I don’t like.
At least your Greens have a top economist. Our Greens piss on the wall and hope it sticks. Thankfully people with real economic knowledge developed pee resistant paint. Now if only we could get those with no clue to buy it.
@Interested, I think I was mostly surprised at having it stated quite that baldly. I know ‘faceless bureaucrats’ is one of those stock phrases, but…
“At least your Greens have a top economist. ”
That’s top economist in the Green Party, which might get them in to the top 5000 economists in the country, just.
“At least your Greens have a top moron”
Fix it for you.