European Commission ordered Apple, Inc. (AAPL) to pay a {$13B euros + interest} for the illegally slashed tax bill by Ireland, although Irish government objected the proposition, so does AAPL itself. This's not a surprise to me.
Back in 2 years ago when the economy of PIGS (Poland, Italy, Greece & Spain) was in toilet, EU had paid a big bill to aid and its treasury got a serious dent (especially to the members like German, England & France). They were trying to find all sort of income resources to make up the financial gap, and US big corporates are their first easy target bc of its ruthless business practices (Google, Apple & others). GOOG was being suited for antitrust/monopoly; AAPL for tax dodging. About a year ago, EU Commission and its Supreme Court had already made its final judgement of AAPL violated the tax bill regulation, but appealed by both AAPL General Counsel and Ireland (bc it wl hurt their economy and ‘CASH FLOW’ if AAPL's being penalized). Since then, in standard foreign policy protocol, US Departments of State and Commerce stepped-in and involved the negotiation with EU Commission by AAPL's request, but didnt gain too much traction. In March, on my FB, after 1Q16 earning announcement, I had highlighted this issue wl soon haunt AAPL's booking. No one seems to be concerned of; Traders all assumed $100B+ on-hand Cash wl solve any problem and last AAPL forever long. In only after two quarters, its 3Q16 earning released, I once again warned about its Cash decline problem, down to $92B only (not including Cash Equivalents and Marketable Securities), which's already signaling a major grave issue bc other foreign countries with slow or dead economy, like China, may eventually find any excuse in squeezing liquidity out of American companies. Today, clearly proved that’s just the beginning.
The problem AAPL faces is not a lack of innovation claimed by many bc it's never a first-to-market technology company, but how it can be more effectively and efficiently protecting itself against trolls (Patent, Competition, Government & so forth) from PESTEL analysis stand point. Its fortune could also be vanished in a blink of an eye if not well managed. Furthermore, our government has full responsibility to protect its lawful citizens against any unfair treat in domestic and foreign soils by reforming our current foreign and economy policies. After all, other foreign governments are simply reacting to how we treated them. Let's not eyes to eyes, but work together harmonically for the best interest of every global citizen.
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