Decision was not aimed against US: Juncker
A man looks at his phone as he walks past an authorized Apple reseller store in Galway Cheap Men's Nike Vapormax Flyknit Grey Shoes Sale , Ireland, on August 30. Photo: CFP


An EU ruling that Apple Inc must pay a huge tax bill to Ireland was clearly based on facts and existing rules and was not a decision aimed against the US, European Commission (EC) President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Sunday.


Last week, EU antitrust regulators -ordered Apple to pay up to 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) in taxes to the Irish -government after ruling that a practice of routing profits through Ireland was illegal state aid.


Apple's Chief Executive Tim Cook last week described the ruling as "total political crap," but France and Germany have come out to back Brussels on the decision.


Juncker said EC investigations on taxation had mainly targeted European companies.


The decision comes amid a coordinated global initiative to crack down on tax evasion by multinational companies, -spearheaded by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and -Development (OECD).


The ruling against the US tech company has pushed the issue into the limelight and raised the risk of significant pushback from the US Cheap Men's Nike Vapormax Flyknit Red Black Shoes Sale , analysts said, where some lawmakers are saying the result represents a European -encroachment on the US potential tax base.


In separate comments to Reuters on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Saturday, Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the OECD Center for Tax Policy and Administration, called Apple's tax planning "outrageous" but, like Juncker Cheap Women's Nike Vapormax Flyknit Violet Dust Shoes Sale , said the decision was based on enforcing regulations.


Saint-Amans said he believed it would be unlikely to serve as a precedent for enforcement on future income earned by multinationals.


Juncker's remarks appeared designed to reassure US lawmakers, who have argued for years over the treatment of offshore income but now fear that the EC move would mean more profits earned by US corporations flowing into European tax coffers.


"This is not a decision against the United States of America," said Juncker.


Ireland's cabinet agreed on Friday to join Apple in appealing against the tax demand, Reuters reported.


Ireland's Finance Minister Michael Noonan has insisted Dublin would fight any adverse ruling ever since the European Union began investigating Apple's Irish tax affairs in 2014, arguing that it had to protect a tax regime that has attracted large numbers of multinational employers, said Reuters.


On August 31 Cheap Nike Air VaporMax 2.0 Men's Black White , he failed to persuade a group of independent lawmakers, whose support is vital for the minority government, to agree to fight the ruling by European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager that Apple's low tax arrangements in Ireland constitute illegal state aid, according to Reuters.

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by Sportswriter Cao Jianjie


SUZHOU, China, April 28 (Xinhua) -- He Zhiwen Cheap Nike Air VaporMax Moc 2 Red Fuchsia Blast Women's , 33 days short of his 53rd birthday, lost his singles and mixed doubles games but reached the men's doubles third round at the world table tennis championships on Tuesday.


""I just play for fun and I didn't expect myself to go further here,"" said the oldest player at the championships on Tuesday.


The former Chinese who represents Spain, pairing with Sara Ramirez, lost the mixed doubles match to a Chinese Taipei duo but went on to win the men's doubles with Carlos Machado, beating Bulgaria's Teodor Alexandrov and Slovakia's Alexander Valuch 4-1.


The gardening-loving father of two lost his singles opener 4-3 to Poland's Jakub Dyjas in the afternoon.


""I used to be angry at losing games Cheap Nike Air VaporMax 97 Metallic Dark Sea White Black Women's , but not any more, as I am getting old,"" said He.


""I kind of like life in Spain, which is quiet and in order, especially after my daughters, 21 and 17 Cheap Nike Air VaporMax Plus Men's White Green , left home - one in America and the other in Ireland.""


He, who had played for China in the 1985 and 1987 world championships with the best singles finish being fifth, made a surprise run into the quarter-finals in the 1997 worlds and debuted in the Olympics in 2004.


The fast attacker in the traditional Chinese style stunned defending champion Werner Schlager from Austria in the 2005 worlds and became the oldest table tennis player at the 2008 Olympics where he lost in the second round.


He discourages youngsters from playing the penhold attacking style, branding it as ""outdated"" and ""futureless"".


A traditional penholder uses only one side of the racket for both strokes and grips the racket as if holding a pen.


The penhold grip, well suited for flat forehands and defensive dropshots, is short on backhand power Cheap Nike Air VaporMax Plus Smokey Mauve Men's Bordeaux Black , while a handshaker grips the racket as of if he is shaking someone's hand and uses one side of the racket for forehands and the other for backhands.


""Beginners should learn handshake style,"" he said.


Only one in 10 men on the world rankings uses penhold grip, with the women's top 10 all being handshakers.


Retirement is never on He's mind since he really enjoys the game.


""I will keep playing as long as I enjoy it,"" he said.


It seems Ni Xialian, the oldest women player at 52, hasn't had enough of table tennis Cheap Nike Air VaporMax Plus String Men's Black Brown , either.


Ni, who retired from the Chinese team 29 years ago and has represented Luxembourg since the 1991 worlds, handed a straight-set defeat to 18-year-old Nicole Tropsman from Israel in the afternoon.


""I have been in the sport for so long that I don't feel any pressure,"" she said.

" Over 4,000 people were seen gathered in a village of Puyang city, Henan province eating “a meal cooked in the same pot” to memorize Emporor Shun Cheap Nike Air VaporMax Flyknit Utility Men's Racer Blue Blue , one of China’s legendary ancestors of ancient times. Over 4,000 people were seen gathered in a village of Puyang city, Henan province eating “a meal cooked in the same pot” to memorize Emporor Shun, one of China’s legendary ancestors of ancient times. Over 4,000 people were see. Jerseys China Jerseys China Cheap Authentic MLB Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NCAA Basketball Jerseys Throwback MLB Jerseys Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Custom NFL Jerseys China