Ireland's coalition government has agreed to appeal the European Commission's ruling that it must collect 13 billion euros in back taxes from Apple, according to Reuters. A motion will come before the country's Parliament on Wednesday seeking an endorsement of that decision, a government spokesperson said.
It was always expected that both Apple and Ireland would appeal any adverse decision, as insisted by the country's finance minister Michael Noonan, but Ireland's cabinet members became divided on the matter following the ruling. After meeting on Friday, however, the cabinet has seemingly come together and agreed to join Apple's fight against the European Commission.
Earlier this week, the European Commission ruled that Apple received illegal state aid from Ireland, following a three-year inquiry into the company's tax arrangements in the country. The investigation's results showed that Apple allegedly paid between 0.005% and 1% in taxes in Ireland between 2003 and 2014, compared to the the country's headline 12.5% corporate tax rate.
Apple CEO Tim Cook called the findings "total political crap" and described the lower end 0.005% tax rate as a "false number." In an open letter, Cook said Apple is confident the decision "will be reversed," but the appeal process could take several years in European courts. Apple has previously said it fully complies with international tax law and is the largest taxpayer in the world.
Cook also said that Apple has "provisioned several billion dollars for the U.S. for payment," and he forecasted that it could repatriate that cash next year. Europe's competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager previously said that Apple could lower its Irish tax bill by paying appropriate taxes in other countries, or by increasing R&D payments to its U.S. operations.
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Top Rated Comments
(View all)Designed in California
Sheltered in Ireland
:D
It is not their fault that 'everyone' sees an issue with them playing by other peoples rules. The EU could have dropped the number a lot and leaned on Ireland to modify it's tax code. Instead they got greedy and went after a number so large that both Apple and Ireland will stand and fight. The EU / commission will never see a fraction of this money because they are arrogant and not thinking smartly.
So it is not just an illegal state aid, but Irelands feast is paid by all member states - and Ireland only benefits. And the tax avoiding companies.
This is not a matter can a sovereign country make their own tax laws... Ireland is doing it on behalf of 500 million people Union.
Netherlands has been fairly popular, although the EU has been stretching into their sovereignty as well. They aren't based in Ireland for the weather.
Ireland has the lowest tax rate in Europe at 12.5 percent that is not about to change. What the EU and others are upset about is not the 12.5 percent tax rate. It is the additional "Shell company" Apple sales international" which has zero employees and zero assets and no tax liability in Ireland even thought it is set up in Ireland. All of the international income outside of Ireland is channeled through this company, and then to the Caribbean. This company pays no tax anywhere.When the EU says the effective rate in Ireland is 1 percent or less they are looking at the total income going through ireland. The piece earned by the local tax paying company and the piece that no tax is pay on in the international company.