There has been a big commotion as to why
the Irish government is refusing take money owed to them through taxes from
Apple. The European Commission states that the company owes the Irish Republic
around 11 billion pounds (£11bn) or 13 billion Euros (€13bn). According to the
article, this €13 billion could be beneficial for the country and is equivalent
to all of Ireland's healthcare budget, 66% of its social welfare bill, 15
million iPhones, 27% of Apple's 2015 profit.
The article discusses possible reasons such
as the country’s reluctance to compromise their reputation as an investment
destination. Foreign direct investment from large
multinational companies have played a major role in Ireland’s economy for
years. The article states that these big shot companies, such as Apple, employ
thousands of people in the country and the people seem to be happy with them.
The majority of the population disagrees with the notion that
Apple owes the country the €13bn euros. The RTE poll found that 68% percent of
respondents are in favor of appealing the European commission finding. Also, another major reason discussed
was the minority government that Ireland has. The main party has 50 of the 158
seats and their major opposition supports their policies on the national
budget, so they also back an appeal. This appeal process could take years and
years, and the £13bn euros has been put in a escrow account while the appeal
process goes on.
It's interesting to me that Ireland wouldn't want to receive a portion of this money if the profits from Apple Sales International weren't taxed. Also, it's interesting that the majority of the public is in favor of filing the appeal. I understand that Ireland no longer wants to be seen as an investment destination or tax haven, but in this situation it seems that filing an appeal against receiving the money is more of a hassle for them.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem quite odd that Ireland wouldn't want to accept money that is owed to them. The article states that the country doesn't want to be seen as a country that companies can dump their investments for a tax break which is a fine, but this is technically their own money that they are refusing. Maybe the government believes that this surge in revenue would be bad for foreign trade if it caused inflation in the currency.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how Ireland is willing to turn a blind eye to such a large amount of money just for the sake of maintaining its reputation as an investment destination. Considering how most of the population and even the opposition government are all supporting the ruling party in this decision, it just shows that being considered an investment destination to big multinationals such as apple is more valuable than 13 billion euros.
ReplyDeleteit is interesting that the government, even knowing the benefits that accepting the money owed them from apple can bring, still refuses to accept this money and even supports Apple in their appeal. It is also notable of how the majority of the country's population supports the governments decision and even the government opposition supports this decision as well
ReplyDelete