Apple-topchefen Tim Cook har nu reageret på EU’s skatte-afgørelse, der betyder, at Apple skal betale 13 milliarder euro, næsten 97 milliarder danske kroner, tilbage til Irland.
“Europa-Kommissionen har konkluderet, at Irland gav Apple uberettigede skattefordele for op til 13 milliarder euro,” lød det tidligere tirsdag fra EU-konkurrencekommissær Margrethe Vestager.
“Ifølge EU’s statsstøtteregler er det ulovligt, fordi det gjorde det muligt for Apple at betale væsentligt mindre i skat end andre virksomheder. Irland skal nu sørge for at den ulovlige støtte betales tilbage.”
Læs også: Gigantisk skattesmæk til Apple for irsk skatteaftale – skal betale 97 milliarder kroner
I et åbent brev på Apples hjemmeside reagerer Tim Cook nu på skattesmækket fra EU.
Det sker under overskriften A Message to the Apple Community in Europe, hvor Tim Cook indleder med at fortælle om Apples historie i Irland, hvor selskabet åbnede den første fabrik helt tilbage i 1980.
“We have operated continuously in Cork ever since, even through periods of uncertainty about our own business, and today we employ nearly 6,000 people across Ireland. The vast majority are still in Cork — including some of the very first employees — now performing a wide variety of functions as part of Apple’s global footprint. Countless multinational companies followed Apple by investing in Cork, and today the local economy is stronger than ever.”
Fulgte bare de irske regler
Af samme grund mener Tim Cook og Apple ikke, at EU-afgørelsen er rimelig, når man ser på den betydning, Apple og andre it-selskaber har haft for Irland, og at Apple – ifølge Apple selv – blot har fulgt reglerne på skatteområdet:
“Over the years, we received guidance from Irish tax authorities on how to comply correctly with Irish tax law — the same kind of guidance available to any company doing business there. In Ireland and in every country where we operate, Apple follows the law and we pay all the taxes we owe.”
“The European Commission has launched an effort to rewrite Apple’s history in Europe, ignore Ireland’s tax laws and upend the international tax system in the process. The opinion issued on August 30th alleges that Ireland gave Apple a special deal on our taxes. This claim has no basis in fact or in law. We never asked for, nor did we receive, any special deals.”
Læs mere om EU-afgørelsen her.
“We now find ourselves in the unusual position of being ordered to retroactively pay additional taxes to a government that says we don’t owe them any more than we’ve already paid.”
“The Commission’s move is unprecedented and it has serious, wide-reaching implications. It is effectively proposing to replace Irish tax laws with a view of what the Commission thinks the law should have been,” lyder det blandt andet fra Tim Cook og Apple.
Annonce:
Vil have mere simple regler
Apple-topchefen skriver samtidig, at selskabet længe har efterspurgt en international skattereform med det formål at gøre reglerne mere enkle og simple.
“We believe these changes should come about through the proper legislative process, in which proposals are discussed among the leaders and citizens of the affected countries. And as with any new laws, they should be applied going forward — not retroactively.”
“We are committed to Ireland and we plan to continue investing there, growing and serving our customers with the same level of passion and commitment. We firmly believe that the facts and the established legal principles upon which the EU was founded will ultimately prevail.
Tim Cook”
Du kan læse brevet fra Apples topchef i fuld længde her.
Læs også:
Gigantisk skattesmæk til Apple for irsk skatteaftale – skal betale 97 milliarder kroner
Leave a Reply