Apple Ordered To Pay €13bn (£11bn) in back taxes to Ireland after a European probe

[Teeqoz]

LurkerJ said:

Teeqoz said:

Better late than never. This will also set a precedent that will make it much harder for the EU to ignore these cases in the future. Ireland has been giving Apple a huge competetive edge by giving them special tax rules that are different from the other companies in Ireland. Too bad for them if their shady deals in the past get consequences now.

When Apple first set up in Ireland, Ireland wasn't a member of the EU. The original deal wasn't illegal when first set up. I am unsure why Ireland or the EU didn't press the issue sooner, but "scummy" and "shady" don't mean much when these practices remain legal. 

The thing about having huge teams of lawyers is that you can easily find loopholes in the law where things that shouldn't be legal, and in reality aren't legal, become legal through accounting trickery. Ireland obviously hasn't pressed the issue because it's in their interests to be able to give big companies a competetive advantage through lower taxes, because it increases the chances of international companies stationing themselves in Ireland as opposed to other places in Europe. The EU certainly has ulterior motives (ie. getting Ireland to pay back debt) for doing this now, but it's still a step in the right direction.