natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Eftersom de overskudsfordelingsmetoder, der godkendes i de anfægtede skatteafgørelser, var i overensstemmelse med Irish Revenues administrative praksis efter section 25 i TCA 97, blev ASI's og AOE's skattetilsvar ikke reduceret som følge af disse afgørelser, og de gav derfor ikke selskaberne en fordel.
The next meeting of ASI's board of directors took place after the end of ASI's financial year 2014, on […] December 2014, in […] [101].
Princippet om den markedsøkonomiske investor kan desuden ikke anvendes som begrundelse for at lægge armslængdeprincippet til grund for fastslåelse af tilstedeværelsen af en fordel, da dette princip ikke kan anvendes på staten, da den handler som en offentlig myndighed, eller på skatteyderen.
In that meeting, it was decided that […] jurisdiction of tax residence would be in […] instead of […], which had been previously proposed.
Der er desuden ikke tale om selektiv behandling i denne sag, da de anfægtede skatteafgørelser kun bekræftede det overskud, der skulle fordeles til de irske filialer i overensstemmelse med section 25 i TCA 97 og relevant administrativ praksis, og dette på samme måde, som Irish Revenue ville anvende section 25 i TCA 97 på alle andre skatteydere i en tilsvarende situation.
INFORMATION ABOUT APPLE DISTRIBUTION INTERNATIONAL
Der var heller ikke tale om selektiv behandling baseret på skøn, eftersom Irish Revenues skønsbeføjelser var begrænset af en række objektive kriterier vedrørende skattesystemet.
ADI was incorporated in Ireland in 2009.
Selv om armslængdeprincippet blev anvendt på transaktionerne i denne sag, konkluderes det i ad hoc-rapporten fra [Apples skatterådgiver], som Apple har indgivet, at overskudsfordelingen til de irske filialer selv i henhold til kravene i de gældende regler om interne afregningspriser ligger inden for rimelighedens grænser, hvilket betyder, at de anfægtede skatteafgørelser ikke gav ASI og AOE nogen fordel.
Since 2012, ADI has assumed certain responsibilities for Apple's distribution activities in the EMEIA region.
Ifølge denne rapport påtog ASI og AOE sig nøglerisiciene i forbindelse med produktsucces og produktfejl på de internationale markeder.
Since 2014, ADI has been responsible for sales, distribution and Apple Online Store activities across the EMEIA region and China.
Distributører og forhandlere af Apple-produkter (nærtstående parter og tredjeparter) var beskyttet mod disse risici gennem kontraktvilkår, globale politikker og distributionstilgange (f.eks. lagerkontrol).
ADI receives orders from customers, engages in demand and sales forecasting and provides contract management for channel customers.
Politikker til styring og afhjælpning af forretningsrisici blev fastlagt af Apple Inc. i USA.
ADI manages logistics activities associated with delivering products to customers.
ASI og AOE havde også finansiel kapacitet til at bære enhver forretningsrisiko og træffe de nødvendige strategiske beslutninger for at mindske selskabets eksponering for forretningsrisici.
ADI is responsible for providing in-warranty and out-of-warranty after-sales support.
I rapporten angives de irske filialers aktiviteter af økonomisk betydning med hensyn til deres funktioner og faktiske omstændigheder.
Those services are provided through ADI's AppleCare support group.
Det fastslås, at TNMM er den mest hensigtsmæssige overskudsfordelingsmetode til at beregne deres skattepligtige overskud, og det fastslås, at den mest hensigtsmæssige overskudsindikator for ASI's irske filial er Berry-forholdet [114] og for AOE's irske filial avancen i forhold til de samlede omkostninger.
ADI also provides after-sales support through third party call centres and networks of Apple approved service providers.
For en distributør som f.eks. ASI, der sælger varer til andre nærtstående distributører, er den eneste værdiskabende funktion ifølge [Apples skatterådgiver] selve logistikken ved distribution af varerne.
Despite declaring profits [102], ADI declared no corporation tax liability for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Omkostninger i forbindelse med varerne overføres blot til den efterfølgende køber af produktet.
This is because ADI had originally calculated its corporation tax liability by applying the profit allocation methods endorsed in the 2007 tax ruling, since that ruling included a ‘restructuring clause’ [103] whereby that profit allocation method would also apply to a new subsidiary in the event of a restructuring of Apple's corporate structure in Ireland.
Omkostningerne i forbindelse med gennemførelsen af distributionen bør være selskabets driftsudgifter.
However, Irish Revenue took the position that the profit allocation methods endorsed by that ruling did not apply to the determination of the taxable profit of a resident company.
I et sådant tilfælde bør selskabet alene modtage betaling for denne udgift.
In 2014, ADI accepted Irish Revenue's position and a settlement was reached […] for all accounting periods up to and including 2012.
Ved anvendelse af Berry-forholdet bør distributøren få en kostpris plus avance af selskabets distributionsomkostninger (merværdiomkostningerne).
This resulted in a settlement of EUR […], comprised of tax […], interest and penalties.
I rapporten opstilles derefter rentabilitetsdata fra en række udvalgte tredjepartsselskaber, som varetager samme slags funktioner som de irske filialer, og den faktiske overskudsfordeling evalueres i overensstemmelse med afgørelserne i forhold til disse tredjepartsdata.
SERVICE AND DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENTS CONCLUDED BY ASI
Med hensyn til evalueringen af resultaterne af fordelingen af overskud til de irske filialer i overensstemmelse med afgørelsen fra 1991 fastlægges der i rapporten et sammenligneligt sæt tredjepartsrentabilitetsdata for 2004, 2005 og 2006 [115], som de faktiske overskud, der er fordelt til de irske filialer i regnskabsårene 2004-2007, sammenlignes med.
In 2008, ASI concluded a Marketing Service Agreement with Apple Inc.
Resultatet af den sammenlignende undersøgelse i ad hoc-rapporten fra [Apples skatterådgiver] fremgår af figur 10 for så vidt angår anvendelsen af Berry-forholdt for ASI og af figur 11 for så vidt angår anvendelsen af avancetillægget til de samlede omkostninger for AOE.
Under that agreement, Apple Inc. allocates a portion of the marketing costs incurred by Apple Inc. to ASI in respect of services performed by Apple Inc. on ASI's behalf [104].
Figur10
Ireland explained that that portion of the marketing costs is allocated to ASI's head office [105].
Interval for Berry-forholdet efter armslængdeprincippet for uafhængige salgs-/distributionsenheder ifølge [Apples skatterådgiver]
However, the contract was concluded between Apple Inc. and ASI without any reference to ASI's head office.
Treĺrigt vćgtet gennemsnit
Rather, the contract provides the postal address of ASI in Cork, Ireland as the address of the counterparty to the agreement.
Berry-forhold – 2004-2006
Furthermore, according to Ireland, ASI's Irish branch incurs local marketing costs directly through contractual agreements with third party marketing companies.
Berry-forhold – 2009-2011
In 2010, a distribution agreement was concluded between ASI and ADI.
Figur 11
Under that agreement, ASI appointed ADI as a non-exclusive global distributor for the sale of Apple products and ADI was granted a non-exclusive licence to certain proprietary rights to promote sales of Apple products.
Interval for avancetillægget til de samlede omkostninger efter armslængdeprincippet for uafhængige salgs-/distributionsenheder ifølge [Apples skatterådgiver]
The distribution agreement gave ADI the right to purchase Apple products from ASI or directly from third party manufacturers.
Bruttoavance i forhold til samlede omkostninger – 2004-2006
ASI and ADI agreed that the aggregate of all charges for products and services supplied under the distribution agreement would be of an amount such that ADI would achieve a net pre-tax profit equal to approximately [1-5] % of […].
Bruttoavance i forhold til samlede omkostninger – 2009-2011
For ADI to carry out distribution for ASI in the EMEIA region, it was agreed in a memorandum of agreement, dated 23 April 2012, that ADI would acquire the assets and assume the liabilities of ASI associated with the distribution in the EMEIA region with effect from 1 April 2012.
Řvre kvartil
On the assets side, the biggest balance sheet item transferred on 1 April 2012 from ASI to ADI concerned the trade receivables […].
Nedre kvartil
On the liability side, the biggest balance sheet item transferred from ASI to ADI concerned the […] Warranty Accrual […] [106].
Antal observationer
APPLE's NEW CORPORATE STRUCTURE IN IRELAND AS OF 2015
På grundlag af denne undersøgelse konkluderer [Apples skatterådgiver] i ad hoc-rapporten, at de overskud, der blev fordelt til ASI's og AOE's irske filialer, var i fuld overensstemmelse med OECD's armslængdeprincip.
In a meeting on 9 January 2015 [107], Apple presented its new corporate structure in Ireland to the Commission.
AOE's avance på de samlede omkostninger præsenteres i rapporten for 2011 og 2012 fremgår af figur 12.
That new corporate structure was put into place as a consequence of the modification of Section 23A TCA 97, as from 1 January 2015 [108], as a result of which an Irish incorporated company could no longer declare its tax residence to be outside of Ireland, while not having any place of tax residency anywhere else, as was the case for ASI and AOE.
Figur 12
Apple indicated that under the new corporate structure the 2007 ruling will no longer be used for determining the taxable base of ASI and AOE in Ireland.
AOE's realiserede avance på de samlede omkostninger ifølge [Apples skatterådgiver] for regnskabsåret 2011 og 2012
According to the information provided by Apple, the last financial year to which the 2007 ruling applies is 2014, which ends on 27 September 2014, according to the statutory accounts of ASI and AOE.
Regnskabsår
Under that new corporate structure, […].
Avance i forhold til samlede omkostninger (%)
According to the information provided by Apple to the Commission on 19 January 2015 [109], […].
Regnskabsåret 2011 realiseret
In its letter of 25 February 2015 [110], Ireland provided additional clarifications regarding the new structure of Apple.
Den 17. november 2014 indgav Apple en yderligere ad hoc-undersøgelse udarbejdet af [Apples anden rådgiver], som har fokus på to problemstillinger rejst i åbningsafgørelsen: i) påstanden om, at udviklingen i salget ikke blev indregnet i fordelingen af overskud til ASI's irske filial [116], og ii) påstanden om, at de to forskellige avancer (65 og 20), der var godkendt for AOE, ikke begge kan være med armslængde [117].
In particular, according to notes of a telephone conference on […] December 2014 between Irish Revenue and Apple, Irish Revenue requested Apple to […].
Det konkluderes, at de anfægtede skatteafgørelser fordelte overskuddet til de irske filialer korrekt på grundlag af en avance på omkostninger uden at indregne udviklingen i salget.
According to those notes, it is further specified that, […].
Ifølge ad hoc-undersøgelsen fra [Apples anden rådgiver] må det forventes, at omkostninger benyttes som grundlag, eftersom de irske filialer er aktive på et konkurrencepræget marked, og da tredjepartsoperatører, som leverer tjenester til Apple svarende til dem, der leveres af de irske filialer, typisk også modtager betaling på grundlag af deres omkostninger.
By letter of 11 November 2015 [111], the Commission requested information about […], as referred to in Apple's submission of 19 January 2015 [112], as well as any underlying documents such as transfer pricing reports.
Med hensyn til den omstændighed, at overskudsfordelingen ikke følger udviklingen i salget, fremfører [Apples anden rådgiver], at de aktiviteter, der udføres af ASI's irske filial, er kendetegnet ved stordriftsfordele.
In its submission of 29 January 2016, Ireland […].
Hvorvidt ASI's irske filials kunder køber store eller små produktmængder, påvirker ikke omkostningerne i betydelig grad, da de aktiviteter, der udføres af ASI's irske filial (f.eks. kundekontakt og organisering af logistik), generelt ligger fast i forhold til den mængde produkter, kunderne køber.
In its letter of 8 March 2016, the Commission […].
Det trinvise system, der anvendes for AOE, kan desuden begrundes ud fra et økonomisk og kommercielt perspektiv.
In a letter dated 23 March 2016, Ireland indicated that Apple had informed Ireland that the […].
Ud fra et økonomisk perspektiv er målet med en avance på driftsomkostningerne at dække faste generalomkostninger.
In the minutes of the meetings of […] board of directors, provided to the Commission on 24 May 2016, information is presented regarding the […].
Den oprindelige avance på 65 ville da skulle dække de faste omkostninger ved aktiviteterne som helhed.
In particular, in the minutes of […] board meeting, held in […] on […] August 2015, it is stated that […].
På et tidspunkt ville den fortjeneste, som denne avance genererer, imidlertid blive mere end tilstrækkelig til fuldt ud at dække de indledende faste omkostninger.
In the minutes of […] board meeting held in Cupertino, US, on […] April 2016, it is recorded that […].
Der burde derfor ikke foretages yderligere betalinger til dækning af de faste omkostninger efter et vist omkostningsniveau, som ifølge ad hoc-undersøgelsen fra [Apples anden rådgiver] endda ville begrunde en sænkning fra 65 til 0.
Attachment 1 to the minutes of the meeting of […] April 2016 contains the minutes of the board meeting on […] August 2015, where changes were introduced and emphasis added, such as striking out […].
Endelig er håndhævelse af statsstøttereglerne ifølge Apple ikke et hensigtsmæssigt redskab til at opnå harmonisering af de nationale selskabsskattelove, hvilket angiveligt er, hvad Kommissionen søger at gøre ved at kræve, at medlemsstaterne overholder standarder som f.eks. armslængdeprincippet, der ikke er omfattet af visse medlemsstaters skattesystemer, hvilket betyder, at disse medlemsstaters skatteafgørelser risikerer at blive genstand for en afgørelse om statsstøtte.
GROUNDS FOR INITIATING THE FORMAL INVESTIGATION PROCEDURE
BEMÆRKNINGER FRA ØVRIGE INTERESSEREDE PARTER
The Commission decided to initiate the formal investigation procedure because it came to the preliminary conclusion that the contested tax rulings constitute the grant of State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty by Ireland to Apple, ASI and AOE and that that aid is incompatible with the internal market pursuant to Article 107(2) and (3) of the Treaty.
De bemærkninger, der er modtaget fra øvrige interesserede parter, nemlig Ibec og det fælles brev indgivet af en række brancheorganisationer (»det fælles brev«), vedrører ikke de tvivlsspørgsmål, der er rejst i åbningsafgørelsen, men fokuserer i stedet på virkningerne af den tilgang, der er anvendt i åbningsafgørelsen, på erhvervslivet.
In particular, the Commission expressed doubts that the profit allocation methods endorsed by those rulings to determine ASI's and AOE's taxable profit in Ireland reflected a remuneration for ASI's and AOE's Irish branches that a prudent independent operator acting under normal market conditions would have accepted.
Det bemærkes navnlig, at Kommissionen ved denne fremgangsmåde vil underminere retssikkerheden og anvende statsstøttereglerne til at sætte ind mod en praksis, der ville kunne håndteres bedre gennem internationale fora som f.eks. OECD eller andre politikkanaler med henblik på at få bugt med skadelig skattekonkurrence.
The Commission noted, in particular, that the taxable basis in the 1991 ruling appeared to be negotiated rather than substantiated by reference to comparable transactions and that Irish Revenue did not seem to have had the intention of establishing a profit allocation based on transfer pricing.
Kommissionen bør ikke tilstræbe en harmonisering af skattesystemerne, hvor den ikke er kompetent, gennem statsstøtteprocedurer.
The Commission further observed that no profit allocation study or transfer pricing report was provided to Irish Revenue at the time that either of the contested tax rulings was requested and that methodological choices accepted by Irish Revenue did not seem to be substantiated in any way.
I bemærkningerne anfægtes også Kommissionens fremgangsmåde i situationer, hvor skattemyndighederne burde have visse skønsbeføjelser, og det anføres at interne afregningspriser ikke er en eksakt videnskab.
It also criticised the endorsement of a one-sided profit allocation method in both rulings, with operating costs excluding costs charged by affiliated companies as a profit level indicator, which was never explained, although it results in materially different outcomes in this case.
Hvis Kommissionen konkluderer, at de anfægtede skatteafgørelser udgør uforenelig statsstøtte, bør tilbagesøgning udelukkes på grundlag af princippet om berettiget forventning og da det drejer sig om en ny fremgangsmåde.
It therefore had doubts as to the appropriateness of the transfer pricing method chosen for the 2007 ruling.
I sine bemærkninger udtrykker Oxfam støtte til Kommissionens undersøgelse og opfordrer Kommissionen til at øge sin undersøgelseskapacitet også i betragtning af, at den nok bedre end nationale instanser er i stand til at foretage en strukturel vurdering af skattepraksis i medlemsstaterne.
The Commission also noted several inconsistencies in the application of the method chosen when determining the profit allocation to AOE and ASI that do not appear to comply with the arm's length principle.
Oxfam opfordrer Kommissionen til at sikre, at der pålægges passende sanktioner i tilfælde, hvor der fastslås at foreligge selektive fordele, og at skadelig skattepraksis afvikles hurtigt.
As regards the 1991 ruling, those inconsistencies related to the mark-up on the costs attributable to AOE's Irish branch, the amount of capital allowances agreed for AOE as well as the duration of the 1991 ruling that was applied by Apple for 15 years.
Oxfam angiver videre, at overgangsperioder på seks år i de irske regler om skattehjemsted, som fremmer hybride uoverensstemmelser mellem enheder, er alt for lange.
As regards the 2007 ruling, the Commission expressed doubts regarding the mark-up of [10-15] % on AOE's branch operating costs, while for ASI a lower mark-up of [10-15] % on operating costs was agreed [113].
IRLANDS BEMÆRKNINGER TIL TREDJEPARTERNES BEMÆRKNINGER
In addition, the profit allocation to ASI's Irish branch, agreed in the 2007 ruling, did not factor in the evolution of sales.
I sine bemærkninger til tredjeparternes bemærkninger til åbningsafgørelsen gentager Irland sit argument om, at OECD's armslængdeprincip ikke er gennemført i irsk lovgivning, for så vidt angår fordeling af filialoverskud, og at Kommissionen ikke har påvist en selektiv behandling af ASI og AOE, eftersom Irish Revenues vurdering i denne sag var fuldstændig i overensstemmelse med sædvanlig administrativ praksis, som det også bekræftes af Apples bemærkninger.
Since the profit recorded by ASI comes from active income, the Commission considered that if growth in sales is not accompanied by an increase in the operating capacity outside of Ireland, it could point to an inconsistency in the allocation of turnover between ASI and its Irish branch.
Det fremgår endvidere af ad hoc-rapporten fra [Apples skatterådgiver] og ad hoc-undersøgelsen fra [Apples anden rådgiver], at resultatet af anvendelsen af de anfægtede skatteafgørelser svarede til det, der ville have været resultatet af anvendelsen af armslængdeprincippet.
In sum, the profit allocation methods agreed for allocating the profit of ASI and AOE to their respective Irish branches were considered to result in a remuneration for those Irish branches that a prudent independent operator acting under normal market conditions would not have accepted and thus to deviate from the arm's length principle.
Irland kommenterer også argumenterne i det fælles brev vedrørende retssikkerhed.
As a result, the Commission reached the preliminary conclusion that those rulings result in a lower tax burden for those companies constituting an advantage for the purposes of Article 107(1) of the Treaty.
I det fælles brev påpeges det ifølge Irland korrekt, at en fornuftig og påpasselig skatteyder ikke kunne have forudset Kommissionens umiddelbare konstatering af uforenelig statsstøtte.
The Commission considered that advantage to be selective since it is granted only to ASI and AOE and it puts those undertakings in a more favourable position than other undertakings that are in a comparable factual and legal position.
Kommissionen sammenligner desuden Irlands skatteregler med en ekstern referenceramme, hvilket er i strid med den mangeårige retspraksis, hvorefter den eneste gyldige reference er det nationale skattesystem.
The Commission further considered that favourable position selectively granted to the two undertakings to be based on the discretion of Irish Revenue which went beyond the simple management of tax revenue by reference to objective criteria.
Alt dette er i strid med retssikkerhedsprincippet.
With all other conditions of Article 107(1) of the Treaty being fulfilled and no apparent compatibility basis pursuant to Article 107(2) or (3) of the Treaty, the Commission reached the preliminarily conclusion that the contested tax rulings constituted State aid that is incompatible with the internal market.
Som svar på bemærkningerne fra Oxfam anfører Irland, at Kommissionen burde gennemføre sine undersøgelser af medlemsstaternes skatteafgørelsespraksis på en rimelig og lige omfattende måde, uanset medlemsstatens størrelse.
COMMENTS FROM IRELAND ON THE OPENING DECISION
Med hensyn til Oxfams bemærkning vedrørende de irske regler om skattemæssigt hjemsted anfører Irland, at dets regler om selskabers skattemæssige hjemsted ikke er udformet med henblik på at lette multinationale selskabers aggressive skatteplanlægning.
In its comments on the Opening Decision, Ireland raises several arguments relating mainly to the applicable national rules to determine the existence of an advantage for the purposes of Article 107(1) of the Treaty, the absence of any selective treatment of ASI and AOE and a number of procedural shortcomings.
Irland påpeger, at den såkaldte »Double Irish«-skattestruktur ikke er og aldrig har været en del af det irske skattesystem, men er et internationalt skatteplanlægningsarrangement, der er udformet og udviklet af skatterådgivere og juridiske rådgivere.
With respect to the national rules that applied at the time of the contested tax rulings and that determine a possible advantage, Ireland argues that, contrary to the Commission's assumption and in the absence of any double taxation treaty, Section 25 TCA 97 constitutes the only basis for computing the tax liability for non-resident companies carrying on a trade through a branch in Ireland.
ANDRE UDVEKSLINGER AF BEMÆRKNINGER EFTER ÅBNINGSAFGØRELSEN
According to Ireland, there is no scope for applying general principles developed by the OECD unless those principles are clearly incorporated in Irish law, which, according to Ireland, is not the case here.
UDVEKSLING AF BREVE EFTER KOMMISSIONENS BREV AF 17.
Section 25 TCA 97 does not refer to the OECD arm's length principle, which is therefore not determinant when allocating profit to an Irish branch.
APRIL 2015
However, even if the OECD framework was applicable to this case, it was not until 2010 that an agreement was reached at OECD level on the allocation of profits to a branch of a non-resident company according to Article 7 of the OECD Model Tax Convention, that is after the contested tax rulings were issued, and even then, only in the context of the application of a double taxation treaty, which is not the case here.
OM BREVET AF 17.
Neither ASI nor AOE are tax resident either in Ireland or in a country with which Ireland has entered into a double tax treaty.
APRIL 2015
Furthermore, the decision-making practice invoked by the Commission to justify the reference to the arm's length principle in the case of Ireland is not applicable as it concerns cases where the Member States had incorporated certain OECD principles into their national law concerning transactions between companies, but then created exceptions for certain taxpayers.