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That is the point. Companies making huge profits selling goods or services in one country but having a registered head office where all the profit are registered in another that offers a lower tax rate.
originally posted by: JDeLattre89
a reply to: ScepticScot
That is the point. Companies making huge profits selling goods or services in one country but having a registered head office where all the profit are registered in another that offers a lower tax rate.
So are you saying all countries should take away the corporate taxes?
Because the only other line for what you are saying is pure double taxation. The government where the good is sold already collects the sales tax. The government where the company collects a corporate tax on profits (an income tax) and then taxes the owners again when the profits make it to them (double taxation on income). Yet you would probably scream bloody murder if the guv double taxed you.
What I can't do is negotiate my own personal rate of tax or claim that all my work I did in this country actually should be taxed elsewhere.
f you don't like the tax rate, then move where taxes are lower.
originally posted by: JDeLattre89
a reply to: ScepticScot
What I can't do is negotiate my own personal rate of tax or claim that all my work I did in this country actually should be taxed elsewhere.
Yes you can. You can do it the same way as the business. If you don't like the tax rate, then move where taxes are lower. And yes businesses are going to get tax incentives from their location simply because the business brings jobs, and people who spend more money in the local economy.
Individual tax rates for companies are illegal under EU rules. Apple were and are free to base themselves whereever they want in the EU but they have to pay the tax rate of that country. I know that tax sweetners are both common and legal for big companies in the US but they are not in the EU.
originally posted by: JDeLattre89
a reply to: ScepticScot
Individual tax rates for companies are illegal under EU rules. Apple were and are free to base themselves whereever they want in the EU but they have to pay the tax rate of that country. I know that tax sweetners are both common and legal for big companies in the US but they are not in the EU.
Again . . . that is a concern between the EU and Ireland, not between the EU and Apple. It is up to the government to get that part of the contract right, not the business.
We are not saying Apple is right in this, simply that the EU has no business going after them.
originally posted by: JDeLattre89
a reply to: ScepticScot
Ok, lets go through this again.
Apple does not owe taxes. They paid the taxes they owed.
In hindsight, the bureaucrats of the EU decided they wanted more money from Ireland so they are telling Apple to pay up.
Without wishing to put words in your mouth I suspect that your position is based round a a belief that corporation tax is wrong and that Apple avoiding paying it, is somehow a win against big government. Being against corporation tax is a perfectly legitimate position but that should apply to all companies, not just those with the money and influence to get preferential treatment. Anyone who has any belief at all in the benefits of the free market and competition should be on the EU side on this.