A few minutes ago I told you that Apple was officially accused by the European Commission of receiving preferential treatment for paying taxes on income in Ireland, the practice being declared illegal by the Commission. Without directly answering these accusations, those from Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), they responded to information that appeared on Monday, according to which she is going to be charged and claims that she did not benefit from selective treatment from the Irish government.
Apple is proud of its long history in Ireland and the 4,000 people we employ in Cork. They serve our customers through manufacturing, tech support and other important functions. Our success in Europe and around the world is the result of hard work and innovation by our employees, not any special arrangements with the government. Apple has received no selective treatment from Irish officials over the years. We're subject to the same tax laws as the countless other companies who do business in Ireland.
Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), says that employed more than 4000 people in Cork, Ireland, where it has several subsidiaries, they being employed both in the factory that produces Macs, as well as in the support departments and not only that. The first agreement with Ireland was concluded in the 80s under the leadership of Steve Jobs and implemented in 1991, it was renewed in 2007, and The European Commission now claims that they are illegal and gives Apple a month to officially respond to the accusations.
Since the iPhone was launched in 2007, our tax payments in Ireland and around the world have increased tenfold. To continue that growth and the benefits it brings to the communities where we work and live, we believe comprehensive corporate tax reform is badly needed...
However, those from Cupertino present the situation differently, indirectly claiming that any other company that creates jobs and pays taxes to the state budget can benefit from similar preferential treatment. The interesting part is that the community legislation does not provide for the existence of any fine for a company that also benefits from preferential treatment from a state, the government of that state still having the obligation to recover its taxes from the company.
Considering that the whole process could take 18 months, no one knows how things will evolve until then.
