美国有线新闻 CNN 欧盟裁定苹果补缴爱尔兰146亿税款 芝加哥市沦为犯罪频发地

 

First order of business, we're breaking down an economic story concerning the European Union and a well-known tech company.

Apple, like many global companies, has its European headquarters in Ireland. Most of Apple's profits from Europe and the region around it are funneled¹ through Ireland. Why? Ireland has one of the lowest business tax rates in Europe. Its main business rate is 12.5 percent.

But officials says Apple has not been paying that, that it's been paying taxes at 1 percent or less in Ireland. International lawmakers say the country gave Apple an unfair tax advantage in exchange for creating jobs in Ireland. So, the European Union has ruled that Apple owes up to $14.6 billion in unpaid² taxes.

But Ireland says Apple paid what it owed. So, the country is appealing the decision, along with Apple itself which says it follows the law and is being unfairly targeted.

The U.S. government says that forcing Apple to pay back taxes in Europe could discourage international businesses from investing in Europe. Apple isn't the only company to face this. Starbucks and Fiat³ Chrysler are also appealing orders to pay back tens of millions from tax deals with other European countries.

On U.S. soil, Chicago, Illinois, is a city struggling with incredible⁴ crime. According to "The Chicago Tribune", August has become the city's most violent month in almost 20 years and that report came out when there are still two days left in a month. This is based on a number of shootings and murders in the city.

Chicago sees an average of around 82 shootings every week. Its struggling economy and increasing gang violence are two of the reasons why.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT⁵: More than 30 kids have been shot and killed in Chicago just this year, and when you look at the shooting numbers and we'll put this up on a full screen so you can see it.

When you look at this year alone, when you think about the violent crimes — 2,988 people shot in 2015, and 2016, already, 2,800 people have been shot. When you think about that crime that is soaring⁶, 43 percent higher in murders, 48 percent higher in shootings, 27 percent up in robberies.

And look, this has been a conversation across this city, especially when it comes to as many young people that had been shot and killed. It's almost to a point where you can't even get through a day without someone being shot, you have a lot of community members who are asking, what can change?

And when you look at the crime rate compared to Los Angeles and New York, people want to know what the solution will be.

Of course, the crime rate is here. In fact, there have been more murders in this city than New York and L.A. combined. People pointing to gangs as part of the problem but there needs to be a larger outreach, and that's something that people haven't been seeing so far.

1 funneled   

漏斗状的

参考例句：

• The crowd funneled through the hall. 群众从走廊中鱼贯而过。
• The large crowd funneled out of the gates after the football match. 足球赛后大群人从各个门中涌出。

2 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

3 fiat   

n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布

参考例句：

• The opening of a market stall is governed by municipal fiat.开设市场摊位受市政法令管制。
• He has tried to impose solutions to the country's problems by fiat.他试图下令强行解决该国的问题。

4 incredible   

adj.难以置信的，不可信的，极好的，大量的

参考例句：

• Some planets run at incredible speed.某些星球以难以置信的速度运行着。
• Her answer showed the most incredible stupidity.她的回答显示出不可思议的愚蠢。

5 correspondent   

n.记者，通信者；adj.符合的，一致的，相当的

参考例句：

• He volunteered as a correspondent for the war.他自愿担任作报道这次战争的记者。
• The result was correspondent with my wishes.结果与我的愿望是一致的。

6 soaring   

adj.往上爬升的；高耸的

参考例句：

• The house prices in the city seemed soaring up without limit. 这个城市的房价好像在无限制地飞涨。
• They were amazed at the soaring drive of our oil workers. 他们对我国石油工人的冲天干劲感到惊奇。