The ABCs of Corruption · Ledger C

Banned It

Apple’s European profits were taxed at an effective rate of 1 percent in 2003 and 0.005 percent in 2014, and when the European Commission ordered Ireland to collect the difference, Ireland went to court against collecting its own taxes. The €14,244,000,000 reached the Irish Exchequer nine years after the order. Along the route wait the companies of Ledger C, each with its own way of booking profit where the rate is lowest.

The red marble is the bill. It starts in the United States and has to reach the Exchequer in Ireland before the clock runs out: 2:00 at Trainee, 1:30 at Auditor and 1:00 at Expert. Each Banned It that catches it takes 1/5 of the bill, €2,848,800,000.

The Tax Bill1:30
The bill€14,244,000,000

The Tax Bill

Pick a level and roll the bill to the Exchequer.

On a phone, hold it the way you mean to play and pick a level. On a computer, use the arrow keys, or drag on the board.

Every level plays the same board and the same five Banned Its. The clock, Amazon, the pull of Bermuda and the time the tax department allows change with the level. The rebate's 4 seconds and the 8 years in escrow come from the record and stay the same.

LevelClockAmazonBermudaTax department
Trainee2:00One, slowerA weaker pull10 seconds
Auditor1:30OneThe standard pull7 seconds
Expert SADHOT Auditor1:00Two, fasterA stronger, wider pull5 seconds

Each Banned It is a case in Ledger C and carries its case number on the board. The outcome and the figure beside it are the ledger's own.

CaseBanned ItOn the boardOutcomeOn the record
C1AlphabetThe Dutch Sandwich. The Dublin gate carries the bill to Amsterdam and drops it in Bermuda.Legal structure, ended 2019€19,900,000,000 in 2017
C2AmazonThe rebate. A touch turns the controls negative for 4 seconds. At Expert two of them circle the United States.No violation alleged$0 in 2017, rebate in 2018
C3AppleEscrow. The bill waits 8 seconds, one for each year from 2016 to 2024, while Ireland pushes it back out.Final judgment, collected€14,244,000,000
C4General ElectricThe tax department. The 975 employees The New York Times counted slow the bill to a crawl, and take their cut if it stays 7 seconds, 10 at Trainee and 5 at Expert.No violation alleged, account disputed$3,200,000,000 benefit reported
C5NikeThe Swoosh in Bermuda. A hole in the Atlantic pulls the bill toward it.State-aid investigation open$12,200,000,000 offshore

The Rule Change. A yellow token sits in the Netherlands. Pick it up and Ireland closes the Double Irish, which shuts the Dublin gate for the rest of the run. On the record it closed to new users in 2015 and to everyone in 2020.

Every name, outcome and figure on the board comes from Ledger C, The Tax Bill, where each one is cited and was checked against its source on 1 October 2026. The bill is the €14,244,000,000 that reached the Irish Exchequer from Apple's escrow account, the one collection among the ledger's five cases.

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