International media react to Apple ruling

The story of Tuesday's ruling from the European Commission which directed Apple to pay €13 billion in back taxes to the Irish State was carried by a number of media outlets throughout the world.

The story was carried on the front page of The Guardian and The New York Times on Wednesday, while analysis and opinion pieces were featured throughout a number of other newspapers and websites.

The following is a selection of news, analysis and opinion pieces illustrating international media's reaction to the Apple ruling.

The Guardian – News: Apple rages at EU's €13bn tax demand
"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.
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.
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%"

The New York Times – Editorial: Apple, Congress and the Missing Taxes
"Apple and the United States have only themselves to blame for the situation. Apple has engaged in increasingly aggressive tax avoidance for at least a decade, including stashing some $100 billion in Ireland without paying taxes on much of it anywhere in the world, according to a Senate investigation in 2013.

In a display of arrogance, the company seemed to believe that its arrangements in a known tax haven like Ireland would never be deemed illegal — even as European regulators cracked down in similar cases against such multinational corporations as Starbucks, Amazon, Fiat and the German chemical giant BASF."

The Times (subscription required) - Analysis: Europe will pay the price as US threatens tit-for-tat retaliation
"The row between the world's biggest company and the commission threatens to cause lasting damage. The US is particularly concerned about the ruling because its taxpayers could end up paying the €13 billion bill rather than Apple. The Treasury department warned last week that "US taxpayers could wind up eventually footing the bill for these state aid recoveries in the form of foreign tax credits that would offset the US tax bills of these companies".

BBC – News: Europe's 'unfair' Apple tax ruling sparks US anger
"There has been widespread criticism in the US of the European Commission's ruling that Apple should pay up to €13bn (£11bn) in back taxes.
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'.
The White House said the ruling could cost US taxpayers."

The Washington Post – Analysis: How the EU's ruling on Apple explains why Brexit happened
"Much of the debate across the Irish Sea in Britain during the lead-up to the referendum on EU membership in June centred on the idea that bureaucrats with no allegiance to Britain were sitting in Brussels and writing their laws. Proponents of a "Brexit" argued that leaving the EU would allow the country to "take back control" of its economy and borders."

After the EU's ruling on Apple and Ireland on Tuesday, one of the most outspoken Brexit leaders, Nigel Farage, tweeted that the EU was 'anti-democratic' and 'doomed,' and included a video of him on a television show saying, 'Across the whole continent, people are saying, 'Why are our laws being made somewhere else?'"

 Sydney Morning Hearld – Analysis: Apple's headache is the start of tax revenue wars - and Australia may join the fight
"Governments around the world are closely watching this decision, and may now decide they also have the right to challenge old rulings. The Australian Taxation Office issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon saying that while 'Australia's tax system is not immediately comparable with European Union nations' the federal government's tougher anti-avoidance laws are 'designed to counter the erosion of the Australian tax base'."