歐盟委員會日前作出裁定，要求蘋果公司向愛爾蘭政府補繳130億歐元稅款，稱其與愛爾蘭的稅收優惠協議違反了歐盟的國家援助規定。2014年，蘋果公司的稅率僅為0.005%，而愛爾蘭企業所得稅的通常稅率是12.5%。該裁定激起蘋果和愛爾蘭的強烈不滿，並可能引發美國與歐盟間的政治爭論。蘋果公司表示將提出上訴並有信心獲勝。
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.
歐盟要求蘋果公司向愛爾蘭政府補繳破紀錄的130億歐元（110億英鎊）稅款。蘋果警告稱跨國公司未來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.
歐盟委員會裁定蘋果公司與愛爾蘭稅務當局達成的稅收優惠協定屬非法國家援助後，這家全球最大的公司面臨天價稅單。
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%.
歐盟委員會稱，該優惠協定使蘋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%。而愛爾蘭企業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.
歐盟競爭事務專員瑪格麗特•韋斯塔格表示：「成員國不得向個別公司提供稅收優惠——優惠協定違反了歐盟的國家援助規定。」維斯塔格對蘋果公司複雜稅收交易的調查已進行了三年。
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果和愛爾蘭的強烈不滿，並可能引發美國與歐盟之間的政治爭論。美國財政部稱此裁定會危害「美國和歐盟之間重要的經濟合作精神」。
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.」
蘋果執行長蒂姆•庫克在致客戶的信中稱，該裁定會對投資歐洲的大型企業造成打擊：「這一裁定除明顯針對蘋果外，還將對歐洲的投資和就業產生深遠的負面影響。按歐盟委員會的理論，愛爾蘭和歐洲的任何一家公司突然都要根據從未存在的法律來繳納稅款了。」
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.
歐盟委員會表示，愛爾蘭與蘋果1991至2015年間的稅收協議容許了蘋果將銷售額歸入一家「總部」名下，而這一「總部」實際並不存在，也不能產生巨額利潤。
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，蘋果在歐盟單一市場銷售億萬歐元的iPhone和其他產品，所得利潤幾乎都得以避稅。公司將盈利計入愛爾蘭的業務部門，而非產品的實際銷售國。
Apple and Ireland said they intend to appeal against the ruling.
蘋果公司和愛爾蘭表示，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，補稅額已達此前同類裁決中最高金額的40倍，與愛爾蘭公共醫療衛生服務的年度預算相當。愛爾蘭的活動家們號召將這筆「意外之財」用於公共住房項目。
The taxable profits of Apple Sales International and Apple Operations Europe did not correspond to economic reality, the commission said.
歐盟委員會稱，蘋果國際銷售公司和蘋果歐洲運營公司的應納稅利潤與其實際盈利不符。
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：「委員會的調查發現，愛爾蘭給予蘋果公司的非法稅收優惠，使蘋果多年來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，現在，包括美國在內的其他國家或可審查蘋果在其境內的業務，或許也能追收蘋果該時期內少繳的稅款。那麼蘋果補繳給愛爾蘭的金額則會減少。
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.
蘋果掌門人庫克稱，歐盟委員會正在改寫蘋果在愛爾蘭的歷史，它凌駕於愛爾蘭法律之上並擾亂了國際稅收制度。他說，蘋果公司30年前選擇了愛爾蘭的科克作為其歐洲總部，在愛爾蘭的員工數量也從60人發展至近6000人。
He said Apple would appeal and that he was confident of winning.
他表示蘋果將會上訴且有信心獲勝。
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.」
庫克說：「我們從未要求，也從未接受過任何特殊協議。現在卻發現自己陷入異乎尋常的處境，被要求向政府補繳額外稅款。而政府說，我們稅金已繳，什麼也不欠他們。」
The commission’s decision is a rebuff to US efforts to persuade it to drop the case after warnings of retaliation from Washington.
美國此前已發出報復警告，試圖讓歐盟不去追究蘋果納稅一案，而歐盟委員會的這一裁定是對美國訴求的有力回絕。
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.
蘋果於2015年修改了與愛爾蘭的稅收協定。鑑於其坐擁超過2300億美元（1760億英鎊）的現金和證券，蘋果支付天價稅款輕而易舉。這家科技公司將資金儲放在美國之外。因為資金一旦流回國內，就不得不承擔美國的賦稅。
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2013年開始對蘋果進行調查，這130億歐元只涵蓋了此前10年的未繳稅款。無權再向前追溯的委員會表示，向蘋果收稅一事取決於愛爾蘭政府。
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。
英文來源：衛報
翻譯：實習生徐曉彤
審校&編輯：丹妮