A few months ago, we talked about the possibility of Apple being ordered to pay a very high figure of around 7 billion (or currently about R $ 27 billion) for the European Union for tax fraud. Now, the decision came out and the money was even bigger than expected: Ma was ordered to pay a staggering 13 billion (or approximately R $ 47 billion) to European coffers.
The European Commission has released a statement stating that the tax benefits offered by the Irish government of Apple are illegal, and that the country has “substantially and artificially lowered” the fee paid by Apple in the country since 1991. According to the agency, the fee paid by Apple in Ireland reached just 0.005% of its profit on the continent in 2014.
In an open letter on the Apple website addressed to "Apple Community in Europe" and written by Tim Cook, the company announced that it intends to appeal the Commission's decision. Here is the letter in full (translated free by ):
Thirty-six years ago, long before introducing the iPhone, iPod or even the Mac, Steve Jobs established Apple's first operations in Europe. At that time, the company already knew that to serve consumers in Europe, it would have to build a base there. Then, in October 1980, Apple opened a plant in Cork, Ireland, with 60 employees.
At the time, Cork was suffering from high unemployment rates and low economic investments. But Apple's leaders saw a community rich with talent, one they believed could accommodate growth if the company were lucky enough to thrive.
We have operated continuously in Cork since then, even during periods of uncertainty about our own business, and today we employ almost 6,000 people around Ireland. The vast majority still from Cork, including some of the first employees, now performing a number of functions as part of Apple's global operation. Numerous multinational companies have followed Apple and invested in Cork, and today the local economy is stronger than ever.
Steve Jobs visits new Apple facilities in Cork; October 1980The success that fueled Apple's growth in Cork comes from innovative products that delight our customers. They helped create and sustain more than 1.5 million jobs around Europe jobs at Apple, jobs for hundreds of thousands of creative developers who thrive on the App Store, and jobs with automakers and other suppliers. A number of small and medium-sized businesses depend on Apple, and we pride ourselves on helping them.
As responsible corporate citizens, we are also proud of our contribution to local economies around Europe and communities around the world. As our business has grown over the years, we have become the largest taxpayers in Ireland, the largest taxpayers in the United States and the largest taxpayers in the world.
Over the years, we have received guidance from the Irish tax authorities on how to properly comply with the country's tax law, the same guidance available to any company doing business there. In Ireland and in whatever country we operate, Apple follows the law and pays all taxes it owes.
The European Commission has launched an initiative to rewrite Apple's history in Europe, rewrite Irish tax laws and subvert the international tax system in the process. The opinion published on August 30 alleges that Ireland has granted Apple a special benefit in our taxes. This statement is not based on any fact or law. We never ask for or receive any special benefits. We now find ourselves in the position of being ordered to pay additional fees retroactively to a government that says we owe him nothing more than what we already paid.
The Commission's attitude is unprecedented and leads to serious and wide-ranging implications. It is effectively proposing to reinstate Irish tax laws with a view of what the Commission thinks the laws should be. This would be a devastating blow to the sovereignty of members of the European Union over their tax affairs and the principle of legal certainty in Europe. Ireland said it plans to appeal the Commission decision and Apple will do the same. We are confident that the decision will be reversed.
At its root, the Commission's crusade is not about the amount of money Apple pays in fees. about which country collects the money.
Taxes for multinational companies are complex, but a fundamental principle accepted worldwide: a company's profits must be taxed in the country where the value is generated. Apple, Ireland and the United States all agree on this principle.
In the case of Apple, almost all of our research and development takes place in California, so the vast majority of our profits are taxed in the United States. European companies operating in the United States are taxed according to the same principle. But the Commission is now acting to retroactively change these rules.
In addition to the obvious Apple direction, the most profound and damaging effect of this decision will be on investment and job creation in Europe. According to the Commission's theory, every company in Ireland and Europe as a whole is suddenly at risk of being subject to fees from laws that never existed.
Apple has long supported an international tax law reform with the aim of simplification and clarity. We believe that these changes must be made with the appropriate legislative processes, in which proposals are discussed among the leaders and citizens of the affected countries. And, as with any new laws, they must be applied from the moment they enter into force and retroactively.
We are dedicated to Ireland and plan to continue investing there, growing and serving our consumers with the same level of passion and dedication. We firmly believe that the established facts and legal principles on which the European Union was founded will ultimately prevail.
Tim Cook
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