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.
欧盟委员会针对苹果公司应该支付高达110亿英镑税款的裁决已经遭到了美国的广泛批评。
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".
美国财政部表示,这种税费调查是“不公平”的,并且破坏了个体国家的税法。资深民主党参议员查尔斯·舒默将这种行为称作“卑鄙的抢劫”。
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.
白宫发言人乔希·欧内斯特指出,如果苹果公司补缴了税金,那么就会抵消他们在美国应缴税金的金额,这对美国的纳税人来说是不公平的。
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%.
早前欧盟委员会曾表示,爱尔兰让苹果公司支付远低于其他企业的企业税,实际上支付的企业所得税税率不足1%。
Ireland and Apple both said they disagreed with the record penalty and would appeal against it.
爱尔兰和苹果公司双方都对这项创纪录的罚金的判罚不满,并且提出了上诉。
Member states cannot give tax benefits to selected companies - this is illegal under EU state aid rules, said Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
欧盟竞争总署委员玛格丽特·威斯塔基尔说: “成员国不能给个别公司税金优惠,这在欧盟补助条例中是非法的。”
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.
爱尔兰的公司税的标准税率为12.5%。欧盟委员会的调查结果显示,实际上苹果公司在2003年为欧洲的盈利上缴了1%的税金,在2014年上缴了大概0.005%的税金。
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".
威斯塔基尔女士表示,爱尔兰和苹果公司达成的税金协议表明,苹果公司的应付税利润“并不符合经济实况”。
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."
美国财政部表示:“我们认为欧盟发起的追溯征税评估是不公平的,它违反了既有的法律规定,并且质疑了个体成员国的税法。”
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. "
民主党最高等级参议员之一的查尔斯·舒默表示:“这是欧盟针对美国公司以及美国课税基础的一次卑鄙的掠夺。”
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.
他还说道:“欧盟通过迫使他们的成员国逆向地强加税金给美国公司,以此来削弱我们在欧洲的经济竞争力,同时他们还攫取了本应在美国本土投资的税收资金。”
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.
苹果公司表示,这项决策可能会对就业有不好的影响。该公司称:“欧盟委员会力图改写苹果公司在欧洲的历史,并且忽视爱尔兰税法以及颠倒国际税务系统流程。”