October 1, 2014 12:33 PM | Permalink | 
CTJ: European Commission Action on Ireland and Apple Reinforces Need for Tax Reform in the United States
(Washington D.C.) Following is a statement by Robert S. McIntyre, director of Citizens for Tax Justice, regarding the European Commission’s decision to characterize Ireland’s tax deal with Apple as illegal “state aid”.
“The European Commission’s move to crack down on Ireland facilitating corporate tax avoidance by Apple, one of the most recognizable brands in the world, could strike a blow against tax dodging by large, profitable American corporations. But this problem will never be fully resolved until Congress reforms the U.S. tax code to prevent corporations from continually seeking haven in countries that entice them with special deals, massive loopholes or zero percent tax rates. Ireland and other tax haven countries have loose rules that allow U.S. corporations to stash profits they earned in the United States offshore, avoiding billions in U.S. taxes.
“The European Commission may cut down the Irish malarkey in the corporate tax world, but what about the Dutch Sandwich offered by the Netherlands, the Swiss cheese tax system offered by Switzerland, the P.O. box corporations offered by Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, and all the other tax dodges offered by various countries? American corporations will find ways to make their U.S. profits appear to be earned in these tax havens until Congress enacts a tax reform that finally puts an end to this nonsense.”
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