In August, the EU ruled Apple’s tax arrangements in Ireland were illegal, and demanded a record penalty.

Apple says it has been singled out and was “a convenient target”.

The Irish Government is also contesting the decision, claiming that EU regulators were interfering with national sovereignty.

It said if the EU ruling went against it, the company would pay 40% of all the corporate taxes collected in Ireland.

Apple’s European headquarters are located in Ireland – where the standard rate of corporate tax is 12.5%.

But in August, the Eurpoean Commission said that Ireland had enabled the company to pay substantially less than other businesses, in effect paying a rate of no more than 1% tax.

In a statement today, the Irish Department of Finance, says that the European Commission had “misunderstood the relevant facts and Irish law and that Ireland did not give favourable tax treatment to Apple, the full amount of tax due was paid in this case and no state aid was provided”.

It added that “Ireland does not do deals with taxpayers.”

Even if Apple lost its appeal, the record tax bill should not be a problem for iPhone maker, which saw a net profit of $53bn in the 2015 financial year.

Apple is not the only company under the spotlight for securing favourable tax deals in the European Union. Last year, the commission told the Netherlands to recover as much as €30m (£25.6m) from Starbucks, while Luxembourg was ordered to claw back a similar amount from Fiat.

The post Apple Appeals EU’s $13.5bn Irish Tax Ruling appeared first on Orsasaiwai.

The new jobs will be spread across a number of industry including, pharma, medical devices, robotics, software development, hosting, IoT, telecoms and software development.

The companies creating the new jobs are:

• Endura Technologies(International) Ltd, a semiconductor company providing power management solutions to the microelectronics industry

• MacStadium, the Mac hosting authority and largest provider of Apple^® Mac Pro private cloud infrastructure-as-a-service worldwide

• Smartfrog, a leading ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) start-up. Forbes recently listed Smartfrog as one of the top 25 global IoT Startups and one of the 10 most-funded

• Cloudbeds, a leader in hospitality property management system software

• Emergenetics, a global provider of talent development solutions

• Telnyx– a leading next generation provider of wholesale real-time communications and VoIP services

• Compar AG, a leader in specialised image processing and robotics provider

• Paragon 28, is a privately held Medical Device Company focusing exclusively on the Foot & Ankle segment of Orthopedics

• TPGS a leading international financial and economic modelling service provider

Source: www.idaireland.com

The post FDI Ireland: 9 North American & European High Growth Companies announce jobs investment appeared first on Orsasaiwai.

It now expects the economy to expand by 1.4% next year, with inflation set to surge to 2.7% – nearly 3 times its current level.

Growth of 1.5% is now forecast for 2018 – down from the previous 1.8% estimate.

The revisions mean the Bank has changed its mind about when the UK economy will feel the impact of June’s Brexit Referendum vote.

The post Bank of England raises 2017 UK growth forecasts appeared first on Orsasaiwai.

At his first post-Brexit meeting with the American Chamber of Commerce of Ireland, Mr Kenny ruled out any question of Ireland’s corporate tax rate being up for negotiation post-Brexit, or following the EU’s tax ruling on US tech giant Apple, which is the subject of an appeal.

Mr. Kenny said, “I have made it perfectly clear, from a tax certainty point of view, that Ireland is absolutely committed to its 12.5% corporation tax rate. That will not be changing and that is an important element for consideration for American investors coming here to Ireland”.

He added, “I also want to assure you of the Government’s continued deep commitment to ensuring Ireland remains a great place from which to do business with the rest of Europe and the wider world.  We are all aware of the challenges that lie ahead, including Brexit, but I am determined to ensure that the best interests of our country are fully represented at the European table. We will continue to focus on the opportunities available to us as an English speaking member of the European Union, with a talented and flexible workforce and a strong pro-business attitude.

Key Facts on US Foreign Direct Investment in Ireland

• The output from US companies in Ireland exceeds $80 billion per year
• US companies have invested over $277 billion in Ireland since 1990
• 140,000 people are employed by over 700 US companies in Ireland, including;
• 9 of the world’s top 10 software companies
• 9 of the world’s top pharma companies
• 13 of the top 15 med tech companies
• 9 of the top 10 US ICT companies
• 15 of the top 25 finance companies

(Source: American Chamber of Commerce Ireland)

The post Ireland is committed to its 12.5% Corporation Tax rate appeared first on Orsasaiwai.