Apple has a corporate structure based in Ireland consisting of two companies (ASI and AOE) setup in 1991 and 2007. This is to minimize tax burden.
The European Commission has concerns that this structure isn’t legal. There have been a series of court cases (2016, 2018, 2020) about this. The current status is that Apple is fine, but there was a filing for appeal in 2021 and an opinion published in September 2023 that this should be reviewed.
(The CJEU published a press release about the recent opinion in November a few days ago, which is why this is news.)
This would cost Apple $13B. Apple’s Q3 profit this year was $23B.
Entirely separate from the EU case, Apple will pay $25M to the US Department of Justice for violating the Immigration and Nationality Act.
To hire a nonresident alien in the US (and to sponsor them for a green card), employers must demonstrate that the position could not be filled by an American citizen or permanent resident. Typically, this is done by advertising the position where only Americans can apply.
Apple technically did the advertising, but they required applicants using this process to mail paper applications. The DOJ found that this did not give proper advantage to Americans.
The European Commission has concerns that this structure isn’t legal. There have been a series of court cases (2016, 2018, 2020) about this. The current status is that Apple is fine, but there was a filing for appeal in 2021 and an opinion published in September 2023 that this should be reviewed.
Important to note that the European Commission gave the OK when these were set up. They’re only complaining now.
Also Apple paid the bill in 2018 and it’s been sitting in escrow since.
This is a terrible summary…
Edit: A better summary.
Apple has a corporate structure based in Ireland consisting of two companies (ASI and AOE) setup in 1991 and 2007. This is to minimize tax burden.
The European Commission has concerns that this structure isn’t legal. There have been a series of court cases (2016, 2018, 2020) about this. The current status is that Apple is fine, but there was a filing for appeal in 2021 and an opinion published in September 2023 that this should be reviewed.
(The CJEU published a press release about the recent opinion in November a few days ago, which is why this is news.)
This would cost Apple $13B. Apple’s Q3 profit this year was $23B.
Entirely separate from the EU case, Apple will pay $25M to the US Department of Justice for violating the Immigration and Nationality Act.
To hire a nonresident alien in the US (and to sponsor them for a green card), employers must demonstrate that the position could not be filled by an American citizen or permanent resident. Typically, this is done by advertising the position where only Americans can apply.
Apple technically did the advertising, but they required applicants using this process to mail paper applications. The DOJ found that this did not give proper advantage to Americans.
Important to note that the European Commission gave the OK when these were set up. They’re only complaining now.
Also Apple paid the bill in 2018 and it’s been sitting in escrow since.