natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Kommissionen anmodede navnlig Irland om at indgive ASI's og AOE's regnskaber for perioden 2004-2013, oplyse antallet af ansatte i fuldtidsækvivalenter (»FTÆ«) for ASI og AOE i samme periode (udgangen af hver regnskabsperiode), FTÆ for ASI's og AOE's irske filialer og oplysninger om de omkostningsfordelingsaftaler, som ASI og AOE har indgået.
Section 25 TCA 97 was preceded by Sections 8(1) and 8(2) of the Corporation Tax Act 1967, which read:
Kommissionen anmodede også Irland om særskilt at udpege beløbet for ASI's passive indkomst i resultatopgørelsen og angive, om denne indkomst hidrører fra Irland.
A company not resident in the State shall not be within the charge to corporation tax unless it carries on a trade in the State through a branch or agency but, if it does so, it shall, subject to any exceptions provided for by this Act, be chargeable to corporation tax on all its chargeable profits wherever arising.
ASI'S OG AOE'S REGNSKABSOPLYSNINGER
For purposes of corporation the chargeable profits of a company not resident in the State but carrying on a trade there through a branch or agency shall be
Begge selskabers indtægter hidrører ifølge deres regnskaber fra salget af produkter, som det fremgår af uddragene i figur 2 og figur 3.
any trading income arising directly or indirectly through or from the branch or agency (but so that this paragraph shall not include distributions received from companies resident in the State); […]’
Ifølge disse regnskaber repræsenterer omsætningen nettosalget til kunder.
Companies that are not resident in Ireland and do not trade through a branch or agency in Ireland are only liable to income tax on any Irish-source income and to capital gains tax on gains arising on the disposal of certain Irish assets (principally Irish land) [56], subject to any treaty relief that may be available.
ASI har øjensynligt ingen royaltyindtægter.
According to Ireland, that insertion was the first time that Irish tax law formally recognised the application of the ‘arm's length principle’ as laid down in Article 9 of the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital (hereinafter: the ‘OECD Model Tax Convention’) and elaborated upon in the OECD's Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations (hereinafter: the ‘OECD TP Guidelines’).
Foruden indtægter af salg og forholdsvis små rentebeløb bogfører AOE også store udbyttebeløb betalt af ASI til AOE i nogle regnskabsperioder.
Part 35A applies to arrangements entered into between associated persons (companies).
Figur 2
However, based on the definition of a ‘person’ in Ireland's domestic tax legislation, any arrangement entered into between a head office and its branch does not fall within the scope of Part 35A.
Uddrag af AOE's regnskab for 2006
The OECD has produced several non-binding guidance documents on international taxation.
Udvalgte regnskabsoplysninger indgivet af Irland fremgår af tabel 1 for ASI og tabel 2 for AOE.
Given their non-binding nature, the tax administrations of the OECD member countries, of which Ireland is one [57], are simply encouraged to follow the OECD's framework.
Tabel 1
Nevertheless, the OECD's framework serves as a focal point and exerts a clear influence on the tax practices of OECD member (and even non-member) countries.
Heraf indtægt af renter og investeringer minus renteudgifter
Transfer pricing refers to the prices charged for commercial transactions between various companies of the same corporate group.
Anmeldt skat i det lovpligtige regnskab
However, transfer pricing can also take place within one company, if the company operates a permanent establishment in a separate jurisdiction.
[63000-63500]
This requires an allocation of that company's profit between its permanent establishment and the other parts of the company.
[35000-35500]
The OECD Model Tax Convention, which forms the basis of many bilateral tax treaties involving OECD member countries and an increasing number of non-member countries, contains provisions both on transfer pricing between associated group companies and profit allocation within a company.
[300-400]
Article 9(1) of the OECD Model Tax Convention on ‘associated enterprises’ provides: ‘[Where] conditions are made or imposed between the two [associated] enterprises in their commercial or financial relations which differ from those which would be made between independent enterprises, then any profits which would, but for those conditions, have accrued to one of the enterprises, but, by reason of those conditions, have not so accrued, may be included in the profits of that enterprise and taxed accordingly’.
[62500-63000]
That provision is considered to lay down the authoritative statement for international tax purposes of the OECD's ‘arm's length principle’ in transfer pricing between associated group companies.
[67500-68000]
The OECD provides guidance on the application of the arm's length principle in the OECD TP Guidelines, of which the latest version was published in 2010 (hereinafter: the ‘2010 OECD TP Guidelines’) [59].
[24500-25000]
Article 7(2) of the OECD Model Tax Convention on ‘business profits’ deals with the attribution of profits within a single company.
[900-1000]
It provides: ‘[…] the profits that are attributable in each Contracting State to the permanent establishment […] are the profits it might be expected to make, in particular in its dealings with other parts of the enterprise, if it were a separate and independent enterprise engaged in the same or similar activities under the same or similar conditions, taking into account the functions performed, assets used and risks assumed by the enterprise through the permanent establishment and through the other parts of the enterprise.’
Tabel 2
Guidance on the application of Article 7 is provided in the OECD's Report on the Attribution of Profits to Permanent Establishments, of which the latest version was published in 2010 (hereinafter: the ‘2010 OECD Profit Attribution Report’) [60].
Regnskabsoplysninger for AOE (i mio. USD)
The 2010 OECD Profit Attribution Report describes the difficulties of allocating profit within a single company as compared to allocating profit between two legally separate companies.
AOE's omsætning
Between two legally separate companies, the determination of which company owns the assets and which company bears risk in the relationship between those two companies is determined by legally binding contracts or other ascertainable legal arrangements.
[400-500]
This is also the case where the two separate companies are part of the same corporate group, so long as the contracts and legal arrangements reflect the underlying reality.
[14500-15000] [71]
By contrast, the fact that a permanent establishment does not constitute a legal entity separate from the company to which it belongs means that between various parts of the same company there is no single part of the company that could be said to legally ‘own’ the assets, assume the risks, and possess the capital or contracts with separate companies [61].
[5000-5500] [71]
To address that difference, the 2010 OECD Profit Attribution Report determines a common approach to the allocation of profits to permanent establishments of non-resident companies.
[500-600]
This is known as the ‘Authorised OECD Approach’.
[2000-2500] [71]
That approach allocates to the permanent establishment those profits that the permanent establishment would have earned at arm's length if it were a ‘distinct and separate’ enterprise performing the same or similar functions under the same or similar conditions, taking into account the functions performed, assets used and risks assumed by the non-resident company through the permanent establishment and through the other parts of that company, as expressed in Article 7(2) of the OECD Model Tax Convention.
Regnskabsoplysningerne i tabel 1 og 2 er baseret på ASI's og AOE's lovpligtige årsregnskaber som indgivet i Irland.
BRANCH PROFIT ALLOCATION BASED ON SIGNIFICANT PEOPLE-FUNCTION IN THE TWO-STEP AUTHORISED OECD APPROACH
Irland har også indgivet oplysninger om det renteindtægtselement i ASI's og AOE's lovpligtige regnskaber, som vedrører de to selskabers irske filialers ejendom [78].
CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING THE APPLICATION OF THE AUTHORISED OECD APPROACH TO INTANGIBLES
Irland indgav en opdeling af ASI's renteindtægter efter »renter indbetalt på ASI's finansielle konto« og »renter af ejendom«.
Section D-2(iii)(c) of the 2010 OECD Profit Attribution Report concerns the allocation of intangibles to permanent establishments.
I 2012 beløb renterne indbetalt på ASI's finansielle konto sig f.eks. til [500-600] mio. USD, og renter af ejendom beløb sig til [1-10] mio. USD.
As regards internally developed trade intangibles, point 86 of the Report sets out that, depending on the business organisation model of the enterprises, ‘the active decision-making and management may often be devolved throughout the enterprise.
I sit brev af 15. april 2015 oplyste Irland, at renter hidrørende fra ASI's irske filial og fra AOE's irske filial blev opført på særskilte bankkonti eller fonde.
An issue arises as to whether this is likely to be the same with regard to the development of intangible property or whether it is more likely that the significant people functions relevant to the determination of economic ownership of intangible assets are performed at a high strategic level by senior management or by a combination of centralised and devolved decision-making functions’.
De daglige bevægelser på disse bankkonti kontrolleres af økonomi- og finansmedarbejdere baseret i Cork, Irland [79].
Point 87 explains that ‘there is no hard evidence that the decision-making process for the development of intangible property is generally so centralised, especially as the focus for determining the significant people functions relevant to the determination of economic ownership is on the active-decision making and management rather than on simply saying yes or no to a proposal.
I de anfægtede skatteafgørelser bestemmes ASI's irske filials skattepligtige overskud på grundlag af driftsudgifter.
This suggests that, just as for financial assets, economic ownership may often be determined by functions performed below the strategic level of senior management.
Særskilte regnskabstal for driftsudgifterne foreligger imidlertid ikke, eftersom Apple ikke har indgivet et særskilt regnskab til Irland.
This is the level at which the active management of a programme toward the development of an intangible would occur, where the ability to actively manage the risks inherent in such a programme lies.’
En del af ASI's samlede driftsudgifter for 2011 og 2012, som de fremgår af ASI's lovpligtige regnskab, er anført i figur 4 til illustration.
Regarding acquired trade intangibles, point 94 of Section D-2(iii)(c)(3)A(ii) explains that ‘just as with internally developed intangibles property, the key question in determining economic ownership of acquired intangibles is where within the enterprise the significant people functions related to active decision-making relating to the taking on and management of risks are undertaken’ [67].
Figur 4
THE OECD TP GUIDELINES
ASI's driftsudgifter i årsberetningen for 2012
The OECD TP Guidelines describe five methods to approximate an arm's length pricing of transactions and profit allocation between companies of the same corporate group: (i) the comparable uncontrolled price method (hereinafter ‘CUP’); (ii) the cost plus method; (iii) the resale minus method; (iv) the transaction net margin method (hereinafter ‘TNMM’) and (v) the transactional profit split method.
Driftsudgifter
The Guidelines draw a distinction between traditional transaction methods (the first three methods) and transactional profit methods (the last two methods).
1000 USD
The Guidelines declare a preference for traditional transaction methods, such as the CUP, over transactional profit methods, such as the TNMM, as a means to establish whether transfer pricing is at arm's length [68].
Markedsførings-, salgs- og distributionsomkostninger
The Guidelines further explain that multinational corporations retain the freedom to apply methods not described in those guidelines to establish transfer prices, provided those prices satisfy the arm's length principle.
Administrationsudgifter
The contested tax rulings endorse a profit allocation for ASI and AOE based on one-sided profit allocation methods which, in their application, resemble the TNMM as described in the OECD TP Guidelines.
Forskning og udvikling
The TNMM is one of the ‘indirect methods’ to approximate an arm's length pricing of transactions and profit allocation between companies of the same corporate group.
I de anfægtede skatteafgørelser bestemmes AOE's irske filials skattepligtige overskud på grundlag af driftsudgifter og omsætning.
The TNMM can be contrasted with the CUP method, which is a ‘direct method’ that compares the price charged for the transfer of property or services in a controlled transaction (that is to say, a transaction between two enterprises that are associated enterprises with respect to each other) to the price charged for the transfer of property or services in a comparable uncontrolled transaction (that is to say, a transaction between enterprises that are independent enterprises with respect to each other), conducted under comparable circumstances.
AOE's samlede resultatopgørelse for 2011 og 2012 er anført i figur 5 til illustration.
The TNMM approximates what would be an arm's length profit for an entire activity, rather than for identified transactions.
Figur 5
It does not seek to establish the price of goods sold, but estimates the profit independent companies could be expected to make on an activity, such as the activity of selling goods.
Resultatopgørelse
The use of the TNMM as a one-sided transfer pricing method — that is, examining the profitability of only one of the parties to the controlled transactions — is often justified by reliance on paragraph 3.18 of the 2010 OECD TP Guidelines, according to which the ‘tested party’, that is to say, the party to the transaction for which a financial indicator (mark-up on costs, gross margin, or net profit indicator) is tested, should, in principle, be the company which has the less complex function [69].
for det år, der sluttede 29. september 2012
In particular, in cases where one of the parties to a controlled transaction holds intellectual property, which it licenses to its counterparty to perform functions such as manufacturing or distribution, tax advisors often invoke the complexity of establishing a return on that intellectual property for designating the counterparty as the party with the less complex function, establishing a return for the functions performed by that counterparty, and allocating all its profit remaining after deduction of that return, that is to say, all the ‘residual profit’, to the party holding the IP as a royalty for the use of that IP.
Note:
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY IRELAND IN RESPONSE TO THE OPENING DECISION AND IN THE COURSE OF THE FORMAL INVESTIGATION
Omsætning — løbende drift
In its Opening Decision, the Commission requested Ireland to provide all such information as may be helpful to assess the contested tax rulings [70].
Vareforbrug
In particular, the Commission requested Ireland to provide the financial accounts of ASI and AOE for the period 2004 to 2013, the number of full time equivalent employees (hereinafter: ‘FTE’) of ASI and of AOE over the same period (each end of reporting period), the FTE of ASI's and AOE's Irish branches, and information about the cost sharing agreements to which ASI and AOE are party.
Bruttoresultat
The Commission also requested Ireland to single out the amount of passive income earned by ASI in the profit and loss accounts and to specify if this passive income comes from Ireland.
Driftsresultat — løbende drift
FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF ASI AND AOE
Indkomst fra koncernselskaber
The income of both companies is classified in their accounts as deriving from the sale of products, as illustrated by the extracts in Figure 2 and Figure 3.
Andre renteindtægter og lignende indtægter
Those accounts indicate that the turnover represents net sales to customers.
Renteudgifter og lignende udgifter
Both the accounts of ASI and AOE specify (for example for the years 2006 and 2007) that the ‘net sales consist primarily of revenue from the sale of products (hardware, software, and peripherals), and extended warranty and support contracts’.
Afskrivninger af finansielle aktiver
As for ASI, other than turnover and comparatively small amounts of interest, it does not record any other significant types of income.
Resultat af ordinær drift før skat
In particular, ASI does not appear to record any royalty income.
Skat af resultatet af ordinær drift
As for AOE, in addition to turnover and comparatively small amounts of interest, it reports large amounts of dividends paid by ASI to AOE for some accounting periods.
Regnskabsårets resultat
Figure 2
Figur 6
Extract from ASI accounts 2007
Uddrag af ASI's årsberetning for 2007
Figure 3
Den nuværende skattesats er lavere end den almindelige skattesats i Irland.
Extract from AOE accounts 2006
Differencerne kan forklares som følger:
Selected financial information provided by Ireland is presented in Table 1 for ASI and Table 2 for AOE.
Resultat af ordinær drift før skat
Table 1
Nuværende skat på 12,5 (2006:12,5)
ASI financial information (in USD million)
Virkninger af:
Year
Regulering af skat for foregående perioder
Profit before tax
Indtægter beskattet med lavere satser
Of which interest and investment income net of interest charges
Skat i alt
Tax declared in statutory accounts
I årene efter 2007 er selskabernes skat i regnskaberne beregnet med en skattesats på [1-5] %.
[63000 – 63500]
Denne skattesats beskrives i regnskaberne som »[d]en gennemsnitlige skattesats for alle de jurisdiktioner, hvor [AOE] har aktiviteter«.
[35000 – 35500]
Uddraget af ASI's reviderede regnskab som gengivet i selskabets årsberetning for 2012 er gengivet i figur 7.
[300 – 400]
Figur 7
[62500 – 63000]
Uddrag af ASI's årsberetning for 2012
[26500 – 27000]
Selskabet har ikke skattemæssigt hjemsted i nogen jurisdiktion.
[1000 – 1500]
Det har aktiviteter i forskellige lande.
[67500 – 68000]
Den gennemsnitlige skattesats for alle de jurisdiktioner, hvor selskabet har aktiviteter, er ca. [1-5] %.
[24500 – 25000]
Skat ved [1-5] %
[900 –1000]
Indtægter beskattet med (lavere)/højere satser
Table 2
ASI's skattetilsvar i Irland beløb sig ifølge selskabets selvangivelser for perioden 25. september 2011 til 24. september 2012 til [1-10] mio. EUR for driftsindtægter (de tilsvarende driftsindtægter beløb sig til [30-40] mio. EUR) plus [0,6-0,7] mio. EUR for renteindtægter, hvilket gav et samlet skattetilsvar på [1-10] mio. EUR [80].
AOE financial information (in USD million)
For samme periode beløb AOE's skattetilsvar i Irland sig til [1-10] mio. EUR for driftsindtægter (de tilsvarende driftsindtægter beløb sig til [10-20] mio. EUR) med et fradrag ved kilden, hvilket gav et samlet skattetilsvar på [1-10] mio. EUR.
AOE turnover
Irland oplyste, at midler, der vurderes at overstige ASI's og AOE's behov for driftskapital, overføres til ASI's og AOE's bankkonti og investeringsselskaber uden for Irland, som drives, ledes og kontrolleres i USA.
[400 – 500]
Med hensyn til de bankkonti, som ASI anvendte til indtægter fra salg til kunder i EMEIA-regionen, oplyste Irland, at pengestrømmen varierer afhængigt af, om kunden er en kanalpartner eller en Apple Online Store-bruger, eller om salget sker i en Apple-detailforretning.
[14500 – 15000] [71]
Hvis kunden er en kanalpartner [81], modtager Apple likvider enten ved elektronisk overførsel eller direkte debitering på en ASI-bankkonto i kundens lokale jurisdiktion eller på en fælles ASI-bankkonto i USA eller Europa, hvor indtjening fra salget i flere lande indsættes.
[5000 – 5500] [71]
Ifølge den oversigt, som Irland indgav vedrørende placeringen af ASI's bankkonti, var der pr. marts 2009 ingen bankkonti i USA, hvorpå indtægter fra salg i EMEIA blev indsat, og pr. marts 2012 blev kun indtægter fra salg i Island, Rusland og Tyrkiet samt dele af Mellemøsten og Afrika indsat på bankkonti i USA.
[500 – 600]
Alle andre indtægter fra salg indsættes på bankkonti i Europa.
[2000 – 2500] [71]
Irland oplyste desuden, at Apples EMEIA Treasury-gruppe, som består af tre personer med arbejdssted i Irland, regelmæssigt samler midlerne på de lokale konti i EMEIA-regionen i »samlekonti«, der står i ASI's navn.
[10-20]
Disse konti befinder sig ifølge Irland i Det Forenede Kongerige, USA og Schweiz.
The financial information presented in Tables 1 and 2 is based on the company statutory accounts of ASI and AOE, as filed in Ireland.
Disse tjenester omfatter investeringsforvaltning og likviditetsstyring […].
The Commission requested Ireland [73] to clarify whether separate accounts exist for ASI's and AOE's head offices and their respective Irish branches and, if so, to provide such separate accounts.
Ifølge Irland hidrører indtægter af disse investeringer ikke fra Irland, og renter af disse er derfor ikke skattepligtige i Irland.
The tax declared by ASI in the statutory accounts is constituted mostly of the tax due to Ireland on the profit of its Irish branches, determined in accordance with the profit allocation methods endorsed by the contested tax rulings [74], since ASI did not consider itself to have a taxable presence in any other tax jurisdiction.
Som svar på åbningsafgørelsen oplyste Irland, at alle Apples medarbejdere i Irland indtil den 31. december 2011 formelt var ansat af AOE, og at AOE's irske filial havde en enkelt lønningsliste i Irland.
For the years 2013 and 2014, ASI became liable to withholding tax in […] because the […] tax administration characterised a fee paid by a […] Apple company to ASI as a royalty and subjected that payment to a withholding tax [75].
Sådanne ordninger er ifølge Irland ikke ualmindelige for koncerner i Irland.
For the years 2009 to 2012, ASI became liable for corporation tax in Italy following an assessment by the Italian tax administration which determined that ASI had a taxable presence in Italy during that period [76].
Der blev anvendt et betalingssystem, hvorefter udgifterne til AOE-medarbejdere, der udførte aktiviteter for ASI's irske filial, hver måned blev omfordelt til denne filial.
As regards the tax declared by AOE in its statutory accounts, that company had a branch in Singapore and was liable to corporation tax in Singapore for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 [77].
Fra den 1. januar 2012 blev ansættelsesordningerne omorganiseret, således at medarbejderne var ansat direkte af den enhed, som de udførte aktiviteter for.
Ireland also provided the component in the interest income reported in the statutory accounts of ASI and AOE, which relates to property of the respective Irish branches of the two companies [78].
Irland forelagde Kommissionen de FTÆ [83]-tal, som Apple havde indgivet.
Ireland provided a breakdown of ASI's interest income into ‘interest paid in ASI's financial account’ and ‘interest from property’.
For perioden indtil den 1. januar 2012 var FTÆ'erne for AOE's irske filial opdelt mellem ASI's og AOE's irske filialer efter det sted, hvor udgifterne opstod.
For example, in 2012 the interest paid in ASI's financial accounts was USD [500-600] million and interest income from branch property was USD [1-10] million.
Tabel 3
In its letter of 15 April 2015, Ireland indicated that the interest attributable to ASI's Irish branch and AOE's Irish branch is earned on separately identifiable bank accounts or funds.
FTÆ for ASI's og AOE's irske filialer
The day-to-day operations of those bank accounts are controlled by finance and treasury staff based in Cork, Ireland [79].
Periode
In the contested tax rulings, the taxable profit of ASI's Irish branch is determined by reference to operating expenses.
AOE's irske filial
A detail of operating expenses for ASI as a whole for years 2011 and 2012, as reported in ASI's statutory accounts, is presented in Figure 4 for illustration purposes.
30. september 2006
Operating expenses
27. september 2008
Marketing, sales and distribution costs
25. september 2010
Administration expenses
29. september 2012
Research and development