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European officials are investigating whether Apple and Starbucks are dodging taxes under arrangements with the Irish and Dutch governments. |
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歐盟官員正在就蘋果和星巴克是否與愛爾蘭和荷蘭政府聯手安排逃漏稅一事展開調查。 |
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"In the current context of tight public budgets, it is particularly important that large multinationals pay their fair share of taxes," said European antitrust chief Joaquin Almunia. |
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「在當前公共預算緊縮的環境下，大型跨國企業繳交應付的稅款尤其重要。」歐盟反托辣斯主席華金．艾慕尼亞表示。 |
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Based on a preliminary analysis, the European Commission is concerned that transfer pricing arrangements in each case could underestimate taxable profits, potentially giving an unfair and illegal advantage to the companies. |
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根據一份初步分析的結果，歐洲聯盟委員會擔心每件案例中所進行的定價移轉安排，有可能會使應稅利潤遭到低估，進而可能為那些公司帶來不公平且違法的好處。 |
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Transfer pricing allows companies to move taxable profits from one part of the group to another, often in a different country, by charging for goods or services provided internally. |
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定價移轉讓公司得以藉由內部制訂的貨品或服務價格，將應稅利潤從集團中的某個區塊移往通常是在不同國家的另一區塊。 |
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Apple and Starbucks, as well as Google and Amazon, have come under fire from lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic for taking advantage of such arrangements to minimize their tax bills in major markets. |
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蘋果、星巴克以及谷歌和亞馬遜都遭到大西洋兩岸立法人士的抨擊，說他們利用這一類的安排以盡可能縮減他們在主要市場的稅額。 |
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Apple, for example, has paid as little as 2% on profits attributed to its subsidiaries in Ireland, where the top rate of corporate tax is 12.5%. |
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舉例來說，蘋果在愛爾蘭的子公司獲利僅支付稅率百分之二的稅款，但愛爾蘭的企業稅最高稅率為百分之十二點五。 |
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Tax experts say Apple and others appear to let offshore subsidiaries enjoy outsized profits, allowing them to exploit tax loopholes. |
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稅賦專家表示，看來蘋果和其他公司任海外子公司享有超額利潤，容許他們濫用稅賦漏洞。 |
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The companies insist they pay all the tax they owe. |
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這些公司則堅稱他們支付了他們應付的所有稅款。 |
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"Since the iPhone launched in 2007, our taxes in Ireland have increased tenfold," said an Apple spokesperson. |
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"Success and growth come from the hard work of our Irish employees, not from any special tax deal with the Irish government. |
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We have received no selective treatment from Irish officials." |
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「自從 iPhone 在二００七年問世以來，我們在愛爾蘭繳交的稅款已經增加了十倍之多，」蘋果的一名發言人表示。「成功和成長來自於我們愛爾蘭員工的辛勤努力，而非來自與愛爾蘭政府達成任何特別稅賦交易。我們並未獲得愛爾蘭官方的選擇性對待。」 |
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