UE’s Decision Regarding Apple Criticized by the US

U.S. Marion Schneider
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The US presidency has expressed “concern” about the European Commission’s decision, on Tuesday, that the US Company Apple is obliged to pay a tax debt of 13 billion euros, arguing that joint efforts are affected by the international tax system optimization.

“We are concerned about an unilateral approach risks which may be undermining the progress we made in collaboration with the Europeans towards a more fair international tax system,” responded Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman.

Earnest warned that the European Commission’s decision would be incorrect for the US citizens because Apple could seek reimbursement of fees in the United States.

The European Commission has determined, after an investigation that lasted three years, that Apple must pay taxes worth 13 billion euros for activities in Ireland.

“Member States cannot provide discretionary tax incentives for companies, this is illegal,” said Margrethe Vestager, the European Union Commissioner for Competition.

The standard rate of tax in Ireland is 12.5%, but the investigation established that Apple has paid taxes of only 1% in 2003 and 0.005% in 2014.

In a statement, Apple argued that the Community tax law is complex and that in recent years the company has helped create over 1.5 million jobs in the EU.

The company stated that the European Commission decision does not refer to how much taxes Apple paid, but which government collects money and that there will be profound deleterious effects on investment and the creation of jobs in Europe.

The company also stated that the European companies doing business in the US are taxed according to the same principle, pleading for simplifying and clarifying the international tax rules.