The European Commission is preparing to launch a formal investigation into Apple’s Irish tax affairs on Wednesday, marking a significant step up in the global crackdown on tax evasion.

欧盟委员会(European Commission)周三将针对苹果(Apple)在爱尔兰的税务问题启动正式调查，这是各国政府打击避税的又一项重大举措。

The investigation will centre on Ireland but EU diplomats expected that the net could be thrown much wider to include a number of companies taking advantage of tax breaks in other European countries such as Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

此次调查将重点关注爱尔兰，但欧盟外交官预测，欧盟委员会可能会撒下更大的网，将目标指向数家利用卢森堡和荷兰等其他欧洲国家税收优惠的公司。

The move by Brussels opens the question of whether companies received rulings that breach the EU’s rule book on state aid – a regime that bans tax breaks to favoured businesses that would create serious distortions of competition.

爱尔兰政府一直面临国际压力，要求其弥补税务漏洞，这些漏洞使得一些跨国企业支付的税率低于12.5%的整体公司税率。

Irish broadcaster RTE reported earlier on Tuesday that the EU was pressing ahead with the investigation.

苹果是被调查的几家公司中最大的一家。此前美国参议院一个委员会声称，爱尔兰允许苹果执行2%或更低的税率。在去年5月的报告中，这个委员会表示，苹果称其“特别税率”是“通过与爱尔兰政府的谈判”取得的。

The Irish government has come under international pressure to close tax loopholes that allow multinationals to pay tax rates that are less than the headline 12.5 per cent corporation tax.

爱尔兰政府随后否认了这些指控。爱尔兰商业部长理查德•布鲁顿(Richard Bruton)表示：“政府绝对是清白的：爱尔兰是税务天堂的传言是错误的。”他告诉记者：“爱尔兰没作任何特殊交易。”

Apple is the largest of several companies under scrutiny after a US Senate committee claimed that Dublin allowed Apple to apply a corporate tax rate of 2 per cent or less. In its report in May last year the Senate committee said Apple had claimed its “special rate” had been obtained “through negotiations with the Irish government”.

然而，去年10月，爱尔兰政府开始采取措施弥补被苹果所利用的税收漏洞。根据爱尔兰法律，跨国企业可以在爱尔兰注册公司，但选择另一个低税率管辖地为“税收所在地”。苹果则根本没有设立任何“税收所在地”。爱尔兰政府表示，将在2015年迫使在爱尔兰注册的“无国籍”企业要么选择另一个“税收居住地”，要么承担爱尔兰规定的公司税率。

Shortly after, the Irish government rejected those charges. Richard Bruton, the Irish business minister, said: “The government is absolutely clear: talk of Ireland being a tax haven is wrong,” he told reporters. “There are no special deals in Ireland.”