The European Commission issued a formal decision on August
30, 2016 that the state of Ireland “recoup roughly €13 billion ($14.5 billion)
of unpaid taxes accumulated over more than a decade by Apple, Inc.”[1]
The decision “shows companies could be on the hook for past behavior and
potentially be handed big bills for allegedly unpaid back taxes.”[2]
E.U. law “forbid companies from gaining advantages over competitors because of
government help.”[3]
This applies both the federal government and the state governments, so the law
could be better stated as, “No state government shall help companies gain
advantages over their competitors.” Presumably Ireland’s government made the
offer of help, rather than Apple getting that government to comply with the
company’s wishes. If so, the state government rather than the company should be
held responsible. Put another way, if Apple’s board and management considered
the Irish offer to be legitimate at the time, Apple should not be held to pay
the back taxes; rather, the state government should pay a penalty to the
Commission.
The full essay is at "Ireland or Apple?"
[1]
Natalia Drozdiak and Sam Schechner, “$14.5 Billion Irish Tax Bill,” The Wall Street Journal, August 31,
2016.
[2]
Ibid.
[3]
Ibid.