Ireland is the European headquarters of many large corporations, including Apple and Google.
the main reason is taxes. it's a 12.5% corporate tax rate that Ireland offers, compared to the 21% corporate tax rate in the US. this allows for companies to save. billions of dollars of taxes.
Apple first established operations in Cork in 1980, and has continued to invest in the location over the past 41 years. The company currently employs about 6,000 people in the region, according to IDA Ireland.
Apple Operations International and its subsidiaries employ about 56,600 staff, of whom 6,000 are based in Ireland.
Hollyhill in Cork is home to Apple's European headquarters. The new facility is the result of a renovation of an old warehouse, with one of the world's most valuable companies investing “tens of millions of euros” and employing around 300 construction workers, mostly local.
Apple CEO Tim Cook at Apple HQ in Hollyhill, Cork, during his visit in 2015. For Apple's second coming, Cork became a much more services focused facility. Yes, it continues to produce bespoke iMacs tailored to a customer's preferred specification but the bulk of the 6,000 staff are in services.
The European Commission brought the action after claiming Ireland had allowed Apple to attribute nearly all its EU earnings to an Irish head office that existed only on paper, thereby avoiding paying tax on EU revenues. The commission said this constituted illegal aid given to Apple by the Irish state.
Ireland is referred to as a tax haven because of the country's taxation and economic policies. Legislation heavily favors the establishment and operation of corporations, and the economic environment is very hospitable for all corporations, especially those invested in research, development, and innovation.
The reason behind this change is the slow progression of the global tax fiasco. Apple has smartly chosen Ireland to be its headquarters for one main reason. The amount of tax to be paid in Ireland is much lower than those of different countries.
Ireland has found deep success in courting interest and investment from U.S. companies thanks to its low taxes, highly skilled workforce, economic and political stability, and excellent location for accessing European markets and consumers.
By establishing their business in Ireland, they are able to access a highly skilled workforce. The presence of so many tech giants in Ireland has created a cluster of highly educated and talented employees. In addition to this, many high growth companies work with well-established tech multinationals.
Corporation tax - 12.5%
The corporation tax rate of 12.5% is undoubtedly an attraction to companies looking to relocate to Ireland. However, this is not the only incentive. Ireland has been ranked 1st in Europe for ease of paying taxes as per PwC "Paying Taxes 2020" report.
In fact, the tax treatment in Ireland enabled Apple to avoid taxation on almost all profits generated by sales of Apple products in the entire EU Single Market. This is due to Apple's decision to record all sales in Ireland rather than in the countries where the products were sold.
British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands are the world's most popular corporate tax havens in the world for 2021 according to Corporate Tax Haven Index (by Tax Justice Network) which publishes a ranking of jurisdictions most complicit in helping multinational corporations underpay corporate income tax.
The list of major firms operating in the Republic includes Intel, Boston Scientific, Dell, Pfizer, Google, Hewlett Packard, Facebook and Johnson and Johnson. Four years ago, there were just over 600 American companies based in Ireland, according to the country's industrial development authority.
While Ireland has been considered a tax haven by many for decades now, the global tax system that Ireland depends on to incentivize multinational corporations to move there is receiving an overhaul by a coalition of 130 nations.
Tech giant Google Ireland agreed a €218 million tax settlement with Revenue this year, according to documents just filed. This formed part of its total corporate tax bill of €622 million, which is detailed in its 2020 financial accounts.
The bonds are owned by foreigners. Ireland is a tax haven. Their corporate income tax is very low, so many foreign companies—-SAP (German), Amazon/Apple (US), Hoffman LaRoch (Swiss) site their headquarters there and lodge their corporate assets (cash, patents, etc) in Ireland.
Ireland is known the world over as a great place to do business. So when companies need to expand overseas Ireland is the perfect location. This is why, based in Ireland, there are over 700 top US companies.
Ireland is famous for its scenic coastlines, towns, and villages along the shoreline. Most of these coastline towns are located in the west of Ireland, mainly in the province of Munster. That's where we live in Limerick! The most famous landmark in Ireland is probably the Cliffs of Moher located in County Clare.
Apple has been based in Cork for over 35 years. We now directly employ around 6,000 people throughout Ireland supporting all aspects of the business.
Shenzhen, perhaps? No, it's Cork, Ireland. That's the Irish city, population 125,622, where Apple employs over 5,500 people, many working in the factory. This is the place where Apple staff assemble the iMacs which are CTO (that's configure-to-order), models for sale in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Hollyhill is Apple's only self-operated manufacturing facility in the world.