General Irish politics discussion thread

Your interpretation of the English language is incorrect.

Your already terrible argument was based entirely on you having an incorrect interpretation of the language you are arguing in.

€13bn divided by 5m people, ah hope it's distributed before the GE in March😉

Fair enough points. I considered the ridicule heaped on those who citicised the governments stance and support of Apple to be based on arrogance and a belief they couldn't possibly be wrong.

That aside, was there a statement or ruling at one time from EU sources that if this money did go to Ireland it must be used for debt pay down and not current or capital expenditure? Seem to recall something about it.

Conversely, aiding and abetting tax evasion schemes by corporations could jeopardise our place in the EU, causing an economic crash like no other.

Hopefully 'lessons will be learnt' here as we are always told they will be when incompetence is called out and judged on.

Again, you alter what was said to have a go.

Where did I say 'we would be thrown out of the EU'?

Totally disingenuous posting.

If we continue aiding and abetting tax evasions schemes it will jeopardise our place in the EU. Our 'place' being a respected and pro EU concerns country. Going against EU concerns and becoming a pariah state within it is not in our interests.

We are all familiar with the scaremongering about corporate flight if we dare do the right thing regarding these entities paying their way. We cannot have it both ways as the EU has just adjudged.

P.S. It's making fairly big headlines in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal etc etc.

Sadly, not the view in the EU.

While she said Ireland has been “much more diligent” about eliminating tax loopholes in recent years, she said “profit shifting” was still ongoing, via Ireland and other countries.

EU competition chief takes aim at Ireland as ‘profit shifting’ central after Apple case | Business Post

Of course it isn't a good thing for Ireland. We should have mitigated the damage long before now.

If it was wrong to provide these loopholes to begin with then it was wrong to defend them in any way.

Were we wrong to provide these loopholes?

P.S. Here is what you said:

Is this making headlines anywhere outside of Ireland? If it is, anything more than a passing reference? No

The US is 'outside of Ireland' and it is making headlines there.

Ah, ok. 😁

How would continuing 'profit shifting' schemes not jeopardise our place and reputation in the EU?

You didn't answer my question btw:

If it was wrong to provide these loopholes to begin with then it was wrong to defend them in any way.

Were we wrong to provide these loopholes?

Simon Harris rang his mate Elon to get it taken down….
I also hear Tin Foil hats are going 3 for the price of 2 down in Tesco.

That is a bit of an elaborate and frankly bizarre conspiracy theory.

I'd say it's more likely a case of a journalist and his/her editor embarrassed by getting it wrong.

A legal question.

Was there a reason given by the ECJ as to why they overturned the lower court's decision?
How usual is this?

Yes.

By its judgment, on appeal by the Commission, the Court of Justice sets aside the judgment of the General Court and gives final judgment in the matter. According to the Court of Justice, the General Court erred when it ruled that the Commission had not proved sufficiently that the intellectual property licences held by ASI and AOE and related profits, generated by sales ofApple products outside the United States, should have been allocated, for tax purposes, to the Irish branches. In particular, the General Court erred when it ruled that the Commission’s primary line of reasoning was based on erroneous assessments of normal taxation under the Irish tax law applicable in the case, and when it upheld the complaints raised by Ireland and by ASI and AOE regarding the Commission’s factual assessments of the activities of the Irish branches of ASI and AOE and of activities outside those branches.

Tax rulings: the Court of Justice sets aside the judgment of the General Court concerning tax rulings issued by Ireland in favour of Apple (europa.eu)

Funds intended to benefit the taxpayer and not big business? No, I don't think they'd be in favour of that.

You’ll have to ask SF what they might do.
I can only judge on what parties have done.
SF have not broken any taxation laws or run a scheme contrary to EU law that diverted funds away from the taxpayer to benefit a corporation. In fact I am only aware of one political party here that was caught by Revenue and had to pay a settlement and who organised a bogus scheme to benefit big business - FG.

For people saying this is bad news for Ireland - what is the bad news? Is it reputation damage? Or an expected flight of corporations from Ireland to avoid tax? Or what's the story?