European Commission officials allege that Ireland's government secured 5,500 jobs from Apple by striking a tax agreement that allowed the company to underpay its taxes by $14.5 billion between 2003 and 2014. If it stands, the European ruling would force Apple to pay that $14.5 billion to Ireland. That's the minimum value of Apple's leverage over the country for the period 2003-2014. Companies, particularly large companies, use their leverage over lawmakers to win tax concessions, a practice exhaustively documented by the group Good Jobs First. One is about companies that don't have much leverage: small businesses or businesses that only exist in an entrepreneur's mind.

Source: Washington Post August 30, 2016 17:34 UTC