歐盟責令蘋果公司補稅這一舉動激怒美國

There has been widespread criticism in the US of the European Commission's ruling that Apple should pay up to 11bn pounds in back taxes.

歐盟委員會針對蘋果公司應該支付高達110億英鎊稅款的裁決已經遭到了美國的廣泛批評。

The US Treasury said that such tax investigations were "unfair" and undermined the tax rules of individual states. Charles Schumer, a senior Democrat senator, called the move a "cheap money grab".

美國財政部表示，這種稅費調查是“不公平”的，並且破壞了個體國家的稅法。資深民主黨參議員查爾斯·舒默將這種行爲稱作“卑鄙的搶劫”。

White House spokesman Josh Earnest argued that if Apple paid the back taxes, it might offset that amount against tax due in the United States, which would be unfair for American taxpayers.

白宮發言人喬希·歐內斯特指出，如果蘋果公司補繳了稅金，那麼就會抵消他們在美國應繳稅金的金額，這對美國的納稅人來說是不公平的。

Earlier the European Commission said Ireland had enabled Apple to pay substantially less than other businesses, in effect paying a corporate tax rate of no more than 1%.

早前歐盟委員會曾表示，愛爾蘭讓蘋果公司支付遠低於其他企業的企業稅，實際上支付的企業所得稅稅率不足1%。

Ireland and Apple both said they disagreed with the record penalty and would appeal against it.

愛爾蘭和蘋果公司雙方都對這項創紀錄的罰金的判罰不滿，並且提出了上訴。

Member states cannot give tax benefits to selected companies - this is illegal under EU state aid rules, said Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.

歐盟競爭總署委員瑪格麗特·威斯塔基爾說: “成員國不能給個別公司稅金優惠，這在歐盟補助條例中是非法的。”

The standard rate of Irish corporate tax is 12.5%. The Commissions's investigation concluded that Apple had effectively paid 1% tax on its European profits in 2003 and about 0.005% in 2014.

愛爾蘭的公司稅的標準稅率爲12.5%。歐盟委員會的調查結果顯示，實際上蘋果公司在2003年爲歐洲的盈利上繳了1%的稅金，在2014年上繳了大概0.005%的稅金。

Ms Vestager said that the tax agreement reached between Ireland and Apple meant that the company's taxable profits "did not correspond to economic reality".

威斯塔基爾女士表示，愛爾蘭和蘋果公司達成的稅金協議表明，蘋果公司的應付稅利潤“並不符合經濟實況”。

The US Treasury said: "We believe that retroactive tax assessments by the Commission are unfair, contrary to well-established legal principles, and call into question the tax rules of individual member states."

美國財政部表示：“我們認爲歐盟發起的追溯徵稅評估是不公平的，它違反了既有的法律規定，並且質疑了個體成員國的稅法。”

Charles Schumer, one of the highest-ranking Democratic senators, said: "This is a cheap money grab by the European Commission, targeting US businesses and the US tax base. "

民主黨最高等級參議員之一的查爾斯·舒默表示：“這是歐盟針對美國公司以及美國課稅基礎的一次卑鄙的掠奪。”

By forcing their member states to retroactively impose taxes on US companies, the EU is unfairly undermining our ability to compete economically in Europe while grabbing tax revenues that should go toward investment here in the United States, he said.

他還說道：“歐盟通過迫使他們的成員國逆向地強加稅金給美國公司，以此來削弱我們在歐洲的經濟競爭力，同時他們還攫取了本應在美國本土投資的稅收資金。”

Apple said the decision would be harmful for jobs. The European Commission has launched an effort to rewrite Apple's history in Europe, ignore Ireland's tax laws and upend the international tax system in the process, the company said.

蘋果公司表示，這項決策可能會對就業有不好的影響。該公司稱：“歐盟委員會力圖改寫蘋果公司在歐洲的歷史，並且忽視愛爾蘭稅法以及顛倒國際稅務系統流程。”