从苹果到辉瑞：跨国企业如何利用爱尔兰避税

 
A range of U.S. businesses store intellectual property in Ireland due to a favorable business environment built on low corporate taxes. Examples are common in the technology and pharmaceutical industries. In recent years, a global push to establish minimum corporate tax rates led Ireland to revise its codes. But loopholes remain, urging officials in the U.S. to re-examine this long-standing relationship.
 
多家美国企业因爱尔兰优惠的商业环境（低企业所得税率）将知识产权资产存放于该国，科技与制药行业尤为常见。近年来，虽然全球推行企业最低税率促使爱尔兰修改税法，但漏洞犹存，迫使美国官员重新审视这一长期存在的税收关系。
 
 
@chontaelu
The video emphasises parts of the Irish tax code that are no longer in place. The 'Double Irish' was abolished in 2015.
These multinational companies employ thousands of highly qualified people in Ireland who cost 30-50% lower than similarly qualified people in the US.
 
这段视频强调了爱尔兰税法中一些早已不复存在的条款，“双重爱尔兰”机制在2015年就被废除了。
这些跨国公司在爱尔兰雇佣了成千上万高素质的员工，其人力成本比美国同等资历的人员低30%到50%。
 
@Mrrane-d7r
Salary differences aren't the reason. I used to work at one of the American IT companies mentioned. The office was full of expats, each supporting their home markets. I was part of a team of five Swedes, all working with Swedish clients like banks and municipalities (sales and technical support). The role wouldn’t go to an American unless they spoke fluent Swedish, understood the local business climate, and were willing to cope with the time difference (living in Alaska would be horrible :P). The location also makes sense since the servers are in the EU, ensuring GDPR compliance. The rest of the EU is somewhat getting screwed, since the company funnels all its cloud service revenue through Ireland. But that’s how it is. The people were nice, and the Guinness was good. Hope that helps.
 
薪资差异并不是原因。我曾在视频中提到的其中一家美国IT公司工作过。那家公司几乎全是外派人员，每个人都在支持自己的本国市场。我所在的小组有五名瑞典人，我们的客户都是瑞典的银行和市政机构（负责销售和技术支持）。除非一个美国人能说一口流利的瑞典语，了解当地的商业环境，还愿意接受时差的影响（比如生活在阿拉斯加，那简直是折磨），否则这个岗位根本不会分配给他们。这个选址也有其合理性——服务器设在欧盟，有助于遵守GDPR（欧盟通用数据保护条例）。欧盟其他国家多少有点吃亏，因为这家公司把所有的云服务收入都集中在爱尔兰结算。但事情就是这样。那边的人很好，吉尼斯啤酒也很棒。希望这些解释有所帮助。
 
@mroctober3657
Ireland is literally the most educated country in the world with over 52% of it's working population holding a bachelor's degree or higher.
 
爱尔兰实际上是全世界受教育程度最高的国家之一，他们有超过52%的劳动人口拥有学士学位或更高学历。
 
@dave3gan
How dare small nations pursue tax policies that work for them rather than for the big economies who would give tax breaks to billionaires
 
小国竟敢推行对自己有利的税收政策，而不是替那些给亿万富翁减税的大国服务，真是胆大包天。
 
@gabrielfinneran3611
Well in fairness, it’s not a tax haven if a large percentage of the population are employed by the company in that country
 
说句公道话，如果一家公司的业务在当地雇佣了大量员工，那就不能说这个国家是“避税天堂”。
 
@a.n.d.r.e.a
The wages are much lower here compared to America so it’s cheaper labor for them
 
这里的工资比美国低得多，对企业来说就是更便宜的劳动力。
 
@zoso7889
@a.n.d.r.e.a Ireland has one of the highest average salaries in Europe
 
爱尔兰的平均薪资在欧洲是名列前茅的。
 
@caezar55
We're talking about 15bn in tax revenue at most. This fixes the 2.1 trillion US deficit how? The money saved by the multinationals created lots of r&d and other jobs in the US and boosts stock prices making Americans richer. Its a win win.
 
我们讨论的最多也就150亿美元的税收，这怎么可能解决21万亿美元的美国赤字？跨国公司节省下来的资金在美国创造了大量的研发和其他工作岗位，同时还推高了股价，让美国人变得更富有。这是双赢。
 
@finkomsky
It’s not all about Taxes
Ireland is a great hub for US companies to access the European markets
Highly educated, English speaking, had the infrastructure in place and incentives for pharmaceutical companies to setup manufacturing, access to multi lingual labour force
Ireland has been key in helping US companies expand their operations and grow market share in international markets
 
这并不完全与税收有关。
爱尔兰是美国公司进入欧洲市场的重要枢纽，具备高素质的劳动力，英语为母语，基础设施完善，同时为制药公司设厂提供了激励措施，并且拥有多语种的人才资源。
爱尔兰在帮助美国企业拓展运营、扩大国际市场份额方面发挥了关键作用。
 
@ppj2047
Ireland has broke no EU corporate laws. US corporations continue to break them. US corps need to adhere to EU law to continue to avail of opportunities in the EU. EU corp tax is currently standardised at 15% across the EU.
 
爱尔兰没有违反任何欧盟的公司法，而美国公司反倒在持续违规。如果这些美国公司想继续在欧盟享受机会，就必须遵守欧盟的法律。目前整个欧盟的公司税率统一为15%。
 
@CormacDublin
Something many people are unaware of, is Ireland has a 33% CGT Exit Tax! on IP Re-shoring, it make it a very expensive endeavor for our top paying corporation tax paying companies.
So it's not going to happen
 
很多人不知道，爱尔兰对知识产权回流征收33%的资本利得退出税！这使得对我们这些纳税最多的企业来说，把IP迁出爱尔兰变得极其昂贵。
所以这种事根本不会发生。
 
@IMakeYourBeat
Before October 10, 2018, the default exit tax was 33%. Post‑2018 reforms standardized it to 12.5%, while preserving the anti‑avoidance rule. If it looks like you’re restructuring just to avoid higher tax, the authorities can apply the full 33%.
 
在2018年10月10日之前，默认的退出税是33%。2018年之后的改革把它标准化为12.5%，但依然保留了反避税条款。如果你的重组看起来只是为了避税，税务机关仍可以强制征收33%的税率。
 
@LeMerch
Ireland has been a very stedfast ally not just in terms of bilateral Government policy like say between the UK and US, but culturally and socially too. I think Ireland is one of those special places where Americans can do business in the same way they can at home and be fully protected by the law and by the broader economic frxwork that favours business there. When you look back in history, Ireland and the Irish people have always been incredibly pro-American. They travelled to the US in their millions and helped build the American cities across the east coast and further inland. Its ingrained in American culture. Right up to the highest military honour a president can give - the Irish have by far the majority of them (Irish Americans, but also Irish too). There's deep ties, but then there's genuine ties and Ireland falls under both. I don't care about a few billion going over to Ireland because in a world going absolutely crazy right now - we have 1 true genuine friend in Ireland, that goes beyond economics and military might. That counts. I understand people will say 'but hold on a second...'. Yeah, I know. But look at how Ireland has started to do business in the US, its the 6th largest Foreign Direct Investor into the United States of America. The 6th! Ireland is punching so far above its weight that it's absolutely incredible - I think Americans should look at Ireland not with skepticism, but with both yes and say ok fair enough - lets continue to do business and work on how we can make it a win win for both of us because the Irish want to do business just like we do.. its clear as day to see. After all, millions of us come from Irish ancestors. We do think alike in many ways. They want to build a free market, just on a smaller scale, and just like we have. Why wouldn't we support that as it benefits us. Large parts of the world have turned their backs on free markets - the Irish haven't. They believed in our ways and its worked out for them and to be very honest, I'm very happy for them about that.
 
爱尔兰一直是美国最坚定的盟友之一，这不仅体现在双边政府政策层面，也体现在文化和社会层面。我认为爱尔兰是一个非常特殊的地方，美国人可以像在本国一样放心地开展商业活动，享受完备的法律保障和有利于商业发展的整体经济体系。回顾历史，爱尔兰及其人民始终对美国极为友好。数以百万计的爱尔兰人曾移民美国，参与建设了东海岸乃至更内陆的许多城市，这已经深深融入了美国的文化中。甚至在总统可以授予的最高军事荣誉中，爱尔兰裔美国人获得的数量也是最多的（不仅是爱尔兰裔美国人，真正的爱尔兰人也有）。我们之间不仅有深厚的联系，而且是真挚的关系，而爱尔兰正是这种“真诚友谊”的代表。
说实话，我不在意那几亿美元流向了爱尔兰，因为在当今这个越来越疯狂的世界中，我们拥有一个真正的朋友——那就是爱尔兰，这种情谊超越了经济和军事实力，这才是最重要的。我知道有些人可能会说“等等……”，我明白。但看看爱尔兰如今在美国开展的商业，他们已经是美国第六大外国直接投资者了，第六大！爱尔兰远远超出了其国家规模本应达到的影响力，这太了不起了。我认为美国人不应该对爱尔兰抱有怀疑，而是应当认同并说一句“行吧，很合理”，然后继续与他们合作，一起努力实现双赢，因为爱尔兰人确实希望以我们相似的方式去做生意——这一点再清楚不过了。毕竟我们中有数百万人的祖先来自爱尔兰，我们在很多方面的思维方式也很相似。他们想建立一个自由市场，只是规模更小一些，但理念和我们如出一辙。我们为何不支持这种愿景？这对我们也有利。如今世界上许多地方都背离了自由市场理念，但爱尔兰没有。他们相信我们走过的道路，并取得了成果。坦白说，我为他们感到高兴。
 
@owwmykneecap
Ireland doesn't have tax loopholes. You do. We have a smart educated workforce, access to the EU market, speak english Natively, can attract skilled workers from across EMEA, including wide language support. Our universities pump out highly trained chemical, pharmaceutical, electrical and software engineers.
We are the single most stable country in europe politically, no irish version of brexit will happen here.
The only real downside is the high house prices.
This video implies its all shell companies. But then why hire so many people? The actual engineering and manufacturing happens here.
 
爱尔兰没有什么税收漏洞，有漏洞的是你们。我们拥有聪明且受过良好教育的劳动力，能进入整个欧盟市场，母语是英语，还能从整个EMEA地区吸引技术人才，语言支持非常多元。我们的大学源源不断地培养出高水平的化工、制药、电气和软件工程师。
我们是欧洲政治最稳定的国家，不可能出现类似“脱欧”的爱尔兰版本。
唯一的缺点就是房价太高。
这段视频暗示这些公司全是空壳公司，可那为什么它们还要雇这么多人？真正的工程和制造是在这里完成的。
 
@ryanf6530
You are kidding yourself. Big tech companies are in Ireland to avoid tax. That's it.
 
你这是在自欺欺人。大科技公司来爱尔兰就是为了避税，仅此而已。
 
@krombopulos_michael
Weird how this didn't even mention the factor that they can hire Irish workers who can do the same high-skill work for a fraction of the cost. Companies in tech, pharma, and finance don't just park money in Ireland like they do in the Cayman Islands, they hire highly-educated Irish people to do work. Where a US software engineer or drug chemist will cost $150k+ at a minimum, and Irish one will often cost half that, with no discernable difference in productivity.
They could go to India and pay even less (and often do as well), or even other European counties, but Ireland has the advantages of being in a closer timezone, with a much closer culture, and an easy to navigate tax and legal system. This is why even as the tax advantages have diminished, companies have not been leaving.
 
奇怪的是视频里居然完全没提到这一点：他们可以雇佣爱尔兰员工，用更低的成本完成同样高技能的工作。科技、制药和金融公司并不像在开曼群岛那样只是把资金停放在爱尔兰，他们是真正在雇佣高学历的爱尔兰人。一个美国的软件工程师或药物化学家年薪至少要15万美元，而在爱尔兰往往只需要一半，而且生产力没有明显的差异。
他们本可以选择去印度，那里的成本更低（很多时候他们也确实这么做），也可以去别的欧洲国家，但爱尔兰的优势在于时区更接近、文化更贴近、税收和法律体系也更容易应对。正因如此，即使税收优势减弱了，这些公司也没有选择撤离。
 
@bryanmaguire
Not just Irish workers. All European, including UK citizens are eligible to work in ireland. They constitute about 20% of the workforce.
 
不只是爱尔兰员工。所有欧洲国家的公民，包括英国人，都有资格在爱尔兰工作，他们大约占所有劳动力的20%。
 
@phillipbarlow9387
We're a "nation of laws" -- and this is similar/analogous, to how a large majority of Fortune 500 companies are officially "incorporated" in the state of Delaware. Check it out, if you're skeptical or haven't heard of this before: these multi-billion dollar companies have tens (or hundreds) of thousands of employees -- and their official "corporate home" is supposedly Delaware...but they may not have even a single employee in that state. What they DO have, is basically a very large P.O. Box at a U.S. Postal Service office located in Delaware -- and some ultra-valuable paperwork, stating that they are a "Delaware-based" corporation. It can't be, and isn't, merely a kooky-crazy "coincidence" -- nor is it "by accident" -- that this is the case, and has been for a very long time. In America, corporations have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of their shareholders -- or else their shareholders can sue them. And it happens to be the case, that incorporating in Delaware -- and banking in Ireland -- is simply that. Nothing more, and nothing less -- and it's all very simple, straightforward, and matter-of-fact. If this weren't true, then the CEOs & CFOs of these all of these companies, would be in Federal prison for tax evasion -- and not drinking $5,000 bottles of wine, on their million-dollar yachts and $30 million private jets. (Which is where they are, and what they're doing.)
 
我们是一个“法治国家”——这就像大多数《财富》500强公司都把注册地设在特拉华州一样。如果你对此持怀疑态度，或者从未听说过，不妨去查查：这些市值数十亿的公司雇佣了成千上万的员工，可它们所谓的“公司总部”居然是特拉华州……有些甚至在那连一个正式员工都没有。它们拥有的不过是特拉华一个邮局的大号邮箱以及一份极其值钱的文件，证明自己是“在特拉华注册的公司”。
这并不是什么古怪的巧合，也不是偶然情况，而是早已成为惯例。在美国，公司有法律义务为股东的最大利益行事——否则股东可以起诉他们。而在特拉华注册公司、在爱尔兰存放资金也正是出于这种职责，就是这么简单、直接、现实。如果不是这样，那这些公司的CEO和CFO早就因逃税进了联邦监狱，而不是坐在价值五千美元的葡萄酒旁、开着几百万美元的游艇，搭乘三千万美元的私人飞机（而他们现在的确就是这么过的）。
 
@TheJensss
Don't hate the players—hate the game. The problem almost every country faces with big, greedy corporations is that the tax system doesn’t require them to pay taxes where the profits are actually earned. Large U.S. tech companies make billions in many European countries but pay next to nothing in the countries where that revenue is generated.
 
别恨参与者——恨规则本身吧。几乎每个国家面对贪婪的大型企业时都会遇到同样的问题，那就是税制并没有要求他们在实际获利的地方缴税。很多美国科技巨头在欧洲各国赚了数十亿，却在那些国家几乎不纳税。
 
@john-paulsylvester2382
In the case of the large tech companies, the profits are generated on the internet, which is to say everywhere and nowhere.
 
对这些大型科技公司来说，利润是通过互联网产生的，也就是说无处不在，又无迹可寻。
 
@TheJensss
@john-paulsylvester2382 That’s true to some extent, but in general, I believe profit should be taxed in the country where it’s earned. So, if a company makes money from German users in Germany, that profit should be taxed in Germany.
 
这一点在某种程度上没错，但我总体上认为利润应在其产生的国家纳税。所以如果一家公司在德国从德国用户那里赚钱，这部分利润就该在德国纳税。
 
@MatthiasShorts
even if you tax them bro bigger cash just gets bigger deals its always been like that
 
即便你向他们征税，兄弟，钱多的大公司总能谈成更大的交易，这一直都是这样。
 
@TheJensss
@MatthiasShorts Nothing wrong with that, but I do think companies should pay the tax rates actually set for them within the countries where they operate. If all OECD countries—or blocs like the EU or the U.S.—collaborated on a common tax frxwork to ensure everyone pays their fair share, it could absolutely be enforced.
 
这倒没什么错，但我确实认为公司应该在其运营所在国缴纳法定税率的税。如果所有经合组织国家，或者像欧盟、美国这样的经济体能在税收上达成一致，确保大家都公平纳税，这完全是可以落实的。
 
@MatthiasShorts
@TheJensss the problem is they dont pay tax by keeping their money in their assets so they never really take profit and they take a loan instead of selling assets so their assets keep growing and they got their profit from the loan at 3- 5 % rate instead of all gone
 
问题是他们不纳税，而是因为把钱存在资产里，不把利润兑现。他们不是卖掉资产拿利润，而是拿资产去贷款，贷款利率只有3%到5%，利润就藏在贷款里了，资产还在不断增值。
 
@TheJensss
@MatthiasShorts Yes, those are common business practices that are difficult to change, but starting with stricter tax enforcement would make companies pay significantly more. Property tax and wealth tax could also be used to ensure companies contribute, though these measures could negatively impact businesses and lead to unintended consequences if not implemented carefully.
 
是的，这些都是普遍存在的商业做法，很难改变，但从加强税务执行力度入手，的确可以让公司多缴税。也可以考虑征收财产税和财富税以确保企业尽到责任，不过这些政策若处理不当，也可能对企业产生负面影响，甚至带来意想不到的后果。
 
@frankcarty
It's not just about tax, College education in Ireland is very cheap, the Irish workforce is very well educated as a result. You leave college with a degree, and no student debt. This means their salaries are much more competitive.
 
这不仅仅是税收问题，爱尔兰的大学教育非常便宜，因此劳动力整体受教育水平很高。你从大学毕业拿到学位，不会背负学生贷款债务，这使得他们的薪资在国际上更具竞争力。