歐盟裁定蘋(píng)果補(bǔ)繳130億歐稅款

歐盟委員會(huì)日前作出裁定，要求蘋(píng)果公司向愛(ài)爾蘭政府補(bǔ)繳130億歐元稅款，稱(chēng)其與愛(ài)爾蘭的稅收優(yōu)惠協(xié)議違反了歐盟的國(guó)家援助規(guī)定。2014年，蘋(píng)果公司的稅率僅為0.005%，而愛(ài)爾蘭企業(yè)所得稅的通常稅率是12.5%。該裁定激起蘋(píng)果和愛(ài)爾蘭的強(qiáng)烈不滿，并可能引發(fā)美國(guó)與歐盟間的政治爭(zhēng)論。蘋(píng)果公司表示將提出上訴并有信心獲勝。

Apple has warned that future investment by multinationals in Europe could be hit after it was ordered to pay a record-breaking €13bn (£11bn) in back taxes to Ireland.

歐盟要求蘋(píng)果公司向愛(ài)爾蘭政府補(bǔ)繳破紀(jì)錄的130億歐元(110億英鎊)稅款。蘋(píng)果警告稱(chēng)跨國(guó)公司未來(lái)在歐洲的投資或遭受打擊。

The world’s largest company was presented with the huge bill after the European commission ruled that a sweetheart tax deal between Apple and the Irish tax authorities amounted to illegal state aid.

歐盟委員會(huì)裁定蘋(píng)果公司與愛(ài)爾蘭稅務(wù)當(dāng)局達(dá)成的稅收優(yōu)惠協(xié)定屬非法國(guó)家援助后，這家全球最大的公司面臨天價(jià)稅單。

The commission said the deal allowed Apple to pay a maximum tax rate of just 1%. In 2014, the tech firm paid tax at just 0.005%. The usual rate of corporation tax in Ireland is 12.5%.

歐盟委員會(huì)稱(chēng)，該優(yōu)惠協(xié)定使蘋(píng)果公司的最高稅率僅有1%。2014年，這家科技公司的稅率僅為0.005%。而愛(ài)爾蘭企業(yè)所得稅的通常稅率是12.5%。

“Member states cannot give tax benefits to selected companies – this is illegal under EU state aid rules,” said the European competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, whose investigation of Apple’s complex tax dealings has taken three years.

歐盟競(jìng)爭(zhēng)事務(wù)專(zhuān)員瑪格麗特•韋斯塔格表示：“成員國(guó)不得向個(gè)別公司提供稅收優(yōu)惠——優(yōu)惠協(xié)定違反了歐盟的國(guó)家援助規(guī)定。”維斯塔格對(duì)蘋(píng)果公司復(fù)雜稅收交易的調(diào)查已進(jìn)行了三年。

Vestager’s ruling prompted an angry response from Apple and from Ireland and is likely to spark a political row between the US and the EU. The US Treasury said the ruling threatened to damage “the important spirit of economic partnership between the US and the EU”.

維斯塔格的裁定激起蘋(píng)果和愛(ài)爾蘭的強(qiáng)烈不滿，并可能引發(fā)美國(guó)與歐盟之間的政治爭(zhēng)論。美國(guó)財(cái)政部稱(chēng)此裁定會(huì)危害“美國(guó)和歐盟之間重要的經(jīng)濟(jì)合作精神”。

In a letter to customers, Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook, claimed the ruling could deal a blow to big companies investing in Europe: “Beyond the obvious targeting of Apple, the most profound and harmful effect of this ruling will be on investment and job creation in Europe. Using the commission’s theory, every company in Ireland and across Europe is suddenly at risk of being subjected to taxes under laws that never existed.”

蘋(píng)果首席執(zhí)行官蒂姆•庫(kù)克在致客戶的信中稱(chēng)，該裁定會(huì)對(duì)投資歐洲的大型企業(yè)造成打擊：“這一裁定除明顯針對(duì)蘋(píng)果外，還將對(duì)歐洲的投資和就業(yè)產(chǎn)生深遠(yuǎn)的負(fù)面影響。按歐盟委員會(huì)的理論，愛(ài)爾蘭和歐洲的任何一家公司突然都要根據(jù)從未存在的法律來(lái)繳納稅款了。”

The commission said Ireland’s tax arrangements with Apple between 1991 and 2015 had allowed the US company to attribute sales to a “head office” that only existed on paper and could not have generated such profits.

歐盟委員會(huì)表示，愛(ài)爾蘭與蘋(píng)果1991至2015年間的稅收協(xié)議容許了蘋(píng)果將銷(xiāo)售額歸入一家“總部”名下，而這一“總部”實(shí)際并不存在，也不能產(chǎn)生巨額利潤(rùn)。

The result was that Apple avoided tax on almost all the profit generated from its multi-billion euro sales of iPhones and other products across the EU’s single market. It booked the profits in Ireland rather than the country in which the product was sold.

由此，蘋(píng)果在歐盟單一市場(chǎng)銷(xiāo)售億萬(wàn)歐元的iPhone和其他產(chǎn)品，所得利潤(rùn)幾乎都得以避稅。公司將盈利計(jì)入愛(ài)爾蘭的業(yè)務(wù)部門(mén)，而非產(chǎn)品的實(shí)際銷(xiāo)售國(guó)。

Apple and Ireland said they intend to appeal against the ruling.

蘋(píng)果公司和愛(ài)爾蘭表示，他們將就這一裁決提出上訴。

The figure of €13bn plus interest is 40 times the previous record for such a case and the equivalent of the annual budget for Ireland’s health service. Irish campaigners called for the windfall to be invested in public housing.

130億歐元再加上利息，補(bǔ)稅額已達(dá)此前同類(lèi)裁決中最高金額的40倍，與愛(ài)爾蘭公共醫(yī)療衛(wèi)生服務(wù)的年度預(yù)算相當(dāng)。愛(ài)爾蘭的活動(dòng)家們號(hào)召將這筆“意外之財(cái)”用于公共住房項(xiàng)目。

The taxable profits of Apple Sales International and Apple Operations Europe did not correspond to economic reality, the commission said.

歐盟委員會(huì)稱(chēng)，蘋(píng)果國(guó)際銷(xiāo)售公司和蘋(píng)果歐洲運(yùn)營(yíng)公司的應(yīng)納稅利潤(rùn)與其實(shí)際盈利不符。

Vestager said: “The commission’s investigation concluded that Ireland granted illegal tax benefits to Apple, which enabled it to pay substantially less tax than other businesses over many years.”

維斯塔格說(shuō)：“委員會(huì)的調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，愛(ài)爾蘭給予蘋(píng)果公司的非法稅收優(yōu)惠，使蘋(píng)果多年來(lái)比其他公司少繳納了許多稅金。”

Vestager suggested other countries, including the US, might now examine how Apple did business within their borders. These other jurisdictions might then claim a share of the unpaid tax from Apple for the same period. This would reduce the bill owed to Ireland.

維斯塔格表示，現(xiàn)在，包括美國(guó)在內(nèi)的其他國(guó)家或可審查蘋(píng)果在其境內(nèi)的業(yè)務(wù)，或許也能追收蘋(píng)果該時(shí)期內(nèi)少繳的稅款。那么蘋(píng)果補(bǔ)繳給愛(ài)爾蘭的金額則會(huì)減少。

Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said the commission was rewriting Apple’s record in Ireland, overriding Irish law and disrupting the international tax system. He said Apple chose the Irish city of Cork as its European base 30 years ago and had expanded from 60 workers to almost 6,000 in Ireland.

蘋(píng)果掌門(mén)人庫(kù)克稱(chēng)，歐盟委員會(huì)正在改寫(xiě)蘋(píng)果在愛(ài)爾蘭的歷史，它凌駕于愛(ài)爾蘭法律之上并擾亂了國(guó)際稅收制度。他說(shuō)，蘋(píng)果公司30年前選擇了愛(ài)爾蘭的科克作為其歐洲總部，在愛(ài)爾蘭的員工數(shù)量也從60人發(fā)展至近6000人。

He said Apple would appeal and that he was confident of winning.

他表示蘋(píng)果將會(huì)上訴且有信心獲勝。

Cook said: “We never asked for, nor did we receive, any special deals. 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.”

庫(kù)克說(shuō)：“我們從未要求，也從未接受過(guò)任何特殊協(xié)議。現(xiàn)在卻發(fā)現(xiàn)自己陷入異乎尋常的處境，被要求向政府補(bǔ)繳額外稅款。而政府說(shuō)，我們稅金已繳，什么也不欠他們。”

The commission’s decision is a rebuff to US efforts to persuade it to drop the case after warnings of retaliation from Washington.

美國(guó)此前已發(fā)出報(bào)復(fù)警告，試圖讓歐盟不去追究蘋(píng)果納稅一案，而歐盟委員會(huì)的這一裁定是對(duì)美國(guó)訴求的有力回絕。

Apple, which changed its tax arrangements with Ireland in 2015, should easily be able to pay the huge tax bill because it has a cash mountain of more than $230bn (£176bn) of cash and securities, mostly held outside the US. The tech group keeps the money outside the US because it would be forced to pay US tax charges if it repatriated the money.

蘋(píng)果于2015年修改了與愛(ài)爾蘭的稅收協(xié)定。鑒于其坐擁超過(guò)2300億美元(1760億英鎊)的現(xiàn)金和證券，蘋(píng)果支付天價(jià)稅款輕而易舉。這家科技公司將資金儲(chǔ)放在美國(guó)之外。因?yàn)橘Y金一旦流回國(guó)內(nèi)，就不得不承擔(dān)美國(guó)的賦稅。

The €13bn figure covers only the 10 years before the commission first requested information in 2013. The commission, which does not have the authority to go back any further, said it was up to Ireland to collect the tax from Apple.

歐盟委員會(huì)2013年開(kāi)始對(duì)蘋(píng)果進(jìn)行調(diào)查，這130億歐元只涵蓋了此前10年的未繳稅款。無(wú)權(quán)再向前追溯的委員會(huì)表示，向蘋(píng)果收稅一事取決于愛(ài)爾蘭政府。

The Irish government, however, wants the ruling reversed because it wants to preserve its status as a low-tax base for overseas companies.

然而愛(ài)爾蘭政府也希望推翻裁決，保住自己低稅港灣的地位以吸引海外公司。