Blog Feeds

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link Brighton Council Latest to Take Down St George?s Flags Sat Aug 23, 2025 17:22 | Richard Eldred
Brighton has become the latest council to start taking down St George's flags, with removals on hold after contractors faced verbal abuse.
The post Brighton Council Latest to Take Down St George?s Flags appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The ?Zombie? Net Zero Levy Adding Billions to Britain?s Energy Bills Sat Aug 23, 2025 15:00 | Richard Eldred
A 'zombie' Net Zero levy, set up under Tony Blair to boost renewables, is still eating billions from household energy bills, even though it closed to new entrants in 2017 ? and it's only set to get worse.
The post The ?Zombie? Net Zero Levy Adding Billions to Britain?s Energy Bills appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The Rise of the Name Muhammad Across Europe Sat Aug 23, 2025 13:21 | Richard Eldred
Across Europe, baby boys named Muhammad and its variants have shot up by as much as 700% since 2000, thanks to growing Muslim communities and mass immigration.
The post The Rise of the Name Muhammad Across Europe appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link British Paralympians Turn Backs During Israeli National Anthem Sat Aug 23, 2025 11:00 | Richard Eldred
Sanctions are being demanded after Britain's wheelchair basketball team turned their backs on Israel's anthem in a gesture slammed as "deeply disrespectful" and an attack on sporting dignity.
The post British Paralympians Turn Backs During Israeli National Anthem appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Reform UK Will Pledge Five Deportation Flights a Day Sat Aug 23, 2025 09:00 | Richard Eldred
Nigel Farage has unveiled his full plan to mass deport asylum seekers arriving on small boats, including housing them at RAF bases, scrapping the ECHR and sending them to third countries.
The post Reform UK Will Pledge Five Deportation Flights a Day appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en

offsite link Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en

offsite link The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en

Voltaire Network >>

If Apple Paid Its Back Taxes, There Would Be No Need For Water Charges Or Property Taxes

category national | bin tax / household tax / water tax | press release author Wednesday September 23, 2015 23:31author by pbp Report this post to the editors

The European Commission has been investigating how Apple got away with paying a tax rate of just 2 percent on massive profits. It has concluded that the company benefited from an illegal deal with the Irish government. This judgement will be announced shortly.

Apple operated two subsidiaries in Ireland – Apple Operations International and Apple Sales International – and it funnelled billions of its global profits through these companies to avoid paying a €34 billion tax bill in the US. It was able to do this this because of a secret deal with the Irish government which cut its tax bill below the official 12.5% rate. The Irish government even allowed it to claim that it was ‘non-resident for tax purposes’.

Earlier this year, Apple warned its investors that it was likely to be hit by a big fine when the EU judgement came though.
It stated that “If the European Commission were to conclude against Ireland, it could require Ireland to recover from the company past taxes covering a period of up to 10 years reflective of the disallowed state aid, and such amount could be material.”

The Financial Times calculated that this could amount to about €2.5 billion.

Which begs the question: what should a cash strapped government that has been squeezing its own population dry do when such a windfall was possible? Grab it with both hands, you might think, and ease up on austerity.

Sure, it might have to admit that the Irish state was complicit in the scam and face a little ‘name and shame treatment’.
But what is a little humiliation compared to getting enough money to abolish the water taxes for decades or a combination of water charges and property taxes for a few years.

Yet, unbelievably, the Irish government is lobbying the EU Commission to stop Apple paying this fine. It wants to give them a little rap on the knuckles but not be forced to pay back taxes.

The Irish elite want to turn their country into a tax haven for the rich. They lash out at their own population to create enough fiscal space to allow large corporations get off lightly.

So when faced with the prospect of back taxes from Apple, they do everything to avoid taking the money. If ever there was a reason to overthrow this sick political establishment the scandal over Apple’s back taxes shows it.

Related Link: http://www.peoplebeforeprofit.ie/2015/09/if-apple-paid-its-back-taxes-there-would-be-no-need-for-water-charges-or-property-taxes/
© 2001-2025 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy