Beats me. We might have to wait 20-30 years for somebody's memoirs to be written to finally hear the rest of it. With this much at stake I seriously doubt there will be a simple narrative.
What I am sure of is that anytime the company with the biggest market cap takes a hit like this? Ten thousand other companies are paying very close attention. Even if Apple took a gamble and lost, other folks have to ask themselves when it comes to regulatory issues in the EU, what kinds of gambles they are taking without even knowing it.
Of course, I simplified the story to make my general point. In the version with more details, Ireland even had their own investigation and worked everything out with Apple. But the EC decided that wasn't good enough.
It's really quite breathtaking. They had to pay 11 years of taxes. How many companies would be able to do that?
What I am sure of is that anytime the company with the biggest market cap takes a hit like this? Ten thousand other companies are paying very close attention. Even if Apple took a gamble and lost, other folks have to ask themselves when it comes to regulatory issues in the EU, what kinds of gambles they are taking without even knowing it.
Of course, I simplified the story to make my general point. In the version with more details, Ireland even had their own investigation and worked everything out with Apple. But the EC decided that wasn't good enough.
It's really quite breathtaking. They had to pay 11 years of taxes. How many companies would be able to do that?