Fast Company: A Tax Expert Takes Tim Cook’s EU Letter Apart Point by Point
media mentionThe European Union, after a lengthy investigation, ruled Tuesday that Apple’s use of Irish subsidiary companies to avoid paying taxes amounts to the tech giant receiving “illegal state aid” from Ireland. As a result, Apple may be required to pay around $14.5 billion in back taxes dating back to 2004.
Cook had a carefully worded—and, at times, sharply worded—open letter ready to publish when the judgment was officially announced. He opens the letter by describing Apple’s history in Ireland dating back to 1980, when Steve Jobs set up the company’s first factory there. Apple employed 60 people in Cork county then, and employs more than 6,000 there now, Cook says. He points out that Apple’s Irish operations have helped create and sustain millions of app development, manufacturing, supplier, and small business jobs across Europe.
To get the other side of the argument I went to Matt Gardner, the director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. As it turns out, Gardner energetically disagrees with many of the statements in Cook’s letter. Here are his responses to Cook’s main points.