U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) reacted on Tuesday to news that the European Union (EU) Commission would levy a multi-billion dollar tax on Apple, Inc.
The EU ruled that Ireland may recover up to $14.6 billion in unpaid taxes from Apple in the biggest tax ruling ever made against a single company, CNN Money reports.
Following the ruling, Portman called for international tax reform and said that the EU Commission continues to ignore serious concerns from the Treasury Department.
“Retroactive taxes not based in the rule of law are an attack on all U.S. companies doing business globally,” Portman said. “The commission is blatantly attempting to take advantage of the antiquated U.S. international tax system, and at the end of the day, it’s U.S. taxpayers footing the bill. This decision is another indicator of the urgent need for international tax reform.”
The ruling found that EU member states couldn’t give tax benefits to selected companies because it was illegal under EU state aid rules.
Brady, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said that the ruling was “another extreme consequence” of a broken tax code that hurts American workers.
“This is occurring because our uncompetitive tax code strands American profits overseas instead of allowing businesses to bring those profits home to reinvest in our jobs, research, and growth,” Brady said. “Instead of standing by and allowing other countries to deliver multibillion-dollar tax bills to American companies, Washington should act now to ensure this doesn’t happen again. That’s why House Republicans are moving forward with our tax reform blueprint built for growth that will allow more companies to operate in our country, hire our workers, and help grow our economy.”