Apple forecast

By Foo Yun Chee and Padraic HalpinLUXEMBOURG/DUBLIN: Apple scored a major win on Wednesday as Europe's second-highest court rejected an EU order for the iPhone maker to pay 13 billion euros ($15 billion) in Irish back taxes, dealing a blow to the bloc's attempts to crack down on sweetheart tax deals.In its order four years ago, the European Commission said Apple benefited from illegal state aid via two Irish tax rulings that artificially reduced its tax burden for over two decades - to as low as 0.005% in 2014."The General Court annuls the contested decision because the Commission did not succeed in showing to the requisite legal standard that there was an advantage for the purposes of Article 107(1) TFEU1," judges said, referring to EU competition rules.They said the EU executive was wrong to say Apple's two Irish subsidiaries - Apple Sales International (ASI) and Apple Operations Europe (AOE) - had been granted a selective economic advantage and, by extension, state aid.Apple … [Read more...] about Blow for EU as Apple wins fight against $15 bln tax order

The decision effectively canceled an August 2016 European Commission decision. The EU court ruled that the Commission had wrongly declared that Apple Sales International (ASI) and Apple Operations Europe (AOE), which were companies incorporated in Ireland but not tax resident in Ireland, had been granted a selective economic advantage and, by extension, state aid. … [Read more...] about Apple wins EU court battle over 13-bln-euro tax order

In 2016, the EU had accused Ireland of allowing Apple to park revenue earned in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India and sparing it almost all the taxation due. According to the European Commission, this gave Apple an advantage over other companies, allowing it to avoid Irish taxes between 2003 and 2014. This, it said, constituted illegal "state aid" given by Ireland. … [Read more...] about Apple wins EU court battle in 13-bln-euro tax case

In the second half of this year, the global economy may be slow to recover from the setback caused by the pandemic and continue dampening export momentum in Taiwan. However, the island's economy may gradually recover with its thriving high-tech industries and expansion of public spending, the statement said. … [Read more...] about Taiwan 2020 economic growth forecast downgraded

SoftBank Group Corp-owned semiconductor technology supplier Arm Ltd has moved to raise licensing fees for some customers in recent negotiations, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters.In recent talks, Arm's sales representatives have pressed for price hikes that would boost overall license costs for some customers by as much as four times, two people familiar with the matter said.License costs vary, but can total millions of dollars for critical designs such as complex computing cores. The hikes have prompted some licensees to consider non-Arm alternatives, two of the people told Reuters, requesting anonymity to discuss the nonpublic talks.Arm said it does not comment on pricing negotiations.The company has invested heavily in new technology to help customers such as Marvell Technology Group penetrate new markets such as data centers. Last year Arm began a "flexible access" program to give customers access to a broad range of its technology with lower upfront costs.Arm … [Read more...] about Arm raises prices on chip technology for some customers: Sources