欧盟责令苹果公司补税这一举动激怒美国

 　　There has been widespread criticism in the US of the European Commission's ruling that Apple should pay up to 11bn pounds in back taxes.

　　欧盟委员会针对苹果公司应该支付高达110亿英镑税款的裁决已经遭到了美国的广泛批评。

　　The US Treasury¹ said that such tax investigations³ were "unfair" and undermined the tax rules of individual states. Charles Schumer, a senior Democrat⁴ senator, called the move a "cheap money grab".

　　美国财政部表示，这种税费调查是“不公平”的，并且破坏了个体国家的税法。资深民主党参议员查尔斯·舒默将这种行为称作“卑鄙的抢劫”。

　　White House spokesman Josh Earnest argued that if Apple paid the back taxes, it might offset⁵ that amount against tax due in the United States, which would be unfair for American taxpayers⁶.

　　白宫发言人乔希·欧内斯特指出，如果苹果公司补缴了税金，那么就会抵消他们在美国应缴税金的金额，这对美国的纳税人来说是不公平的。

　　欧盟责令苹果公司补税这一举动激怒美国

　　Earlier the European Commission said Ireland had enabled Apple to pay substantially less than other businesses, in effect paying a corporate⁷ tax rate of no more than 1%.

　　早前欧盟委员会曾表示，爱尔兰让苹果公司支付远低于其他企业的企业税，实际上支付的企业所得税税率不足1%。

　　Ireland and Apple both said they disagreed with the record penalty and would appeal against it.

　　爱尔兰和苹果公司双方都对这项创纪录的罚金的判罚不满，并且提出了上诉。

　　Member states cannot give tax benefits to selected companies - this is illegal under EU state aid rules, said Competition Commissioner⁸ Margrethe Vestager.

　　欧盟竞争总署委员玛格丽特·威斯塔基尔说: “成员国不能给个别公司税金优惠，这在欧盟补助条例中是非法的。”

　　The standard rate of Irish corporate tax is 12.5%. The Commissions's investigation² concluded that Apple had effectively paid 1% tax on its European profits in 2003 and about 0.005% in 2014.

　　爱尔兰的公司税的标准税率为12.5%。欧盟委员会的调查结果显示，实际上苹果公司在2003年为欧洲的盈利上缴了1%的税金，在2014年上缴了大概0.005%的税金。

　　Ms Vestager said that the tax agreement reached between Ireland and Apple meant that the company's taxable profits "did not correspond to economic reality".

　　威斯塔基尔女士表示，爱尔兰和苹果公司达成的税金协议表明，苹果公司的应付税利润“并不符合经济实况”。

　　The US Treasury said: "We believe that retroactive tax assessments⁹ by the Commission are unfair, contrary to well-established legal principles, and call into question the tax rules of individual member states."

　　美国财政部表示：“我们认为欧盟发起的追溯征税评估是不公平的，它违反了既有的法律规定，并且质疑了个体成员国的税法。”

　　Charles Schumer, one of the highest-ranking Democratic senators, said: "This is a cheap money grab by the European Commission, targeting US businesses and the US tax base. "

　　民主党最高等级参议员之一的查尔斯·舒默表示：“这是欧盟针对美国公司以及美国课税基础的一次卑鄙的掠夺。”

　　By forcing their member states to retroactively impose taxes on US companies, the EU is unfairly undermining our ability to compete economically in Europe while grabbing tax revenues that should go toward investment here in the United States, he said.

　　他还说道：“欧盟通过迫使他们的成员国逆向地强加税金给美国公司，以此来削弱我们在欧洲的经济竞争力，同时他们还攫取了本应在美国本土投资的税收资金。”

　　Apple said the decision would be harmful for jobs. The European Commission has launched an effort to rewrite Apple's history in Europe, ignore Ireland's tax laws and upend the international tax system in the process, the company said.

　　苹果公司表示，这项决策可能会对就业有不好的影响。该公司称：“欧盟委员会力图改写苹果公司在欧洲的历史，并且忽视爱尔兰税法以及颠倒国际税务系统流程。”

1 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

5 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

6 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

7 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

8 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

9 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句