The European Commission has ruled the Apple received illegal state aid from Ireland and will owe billions of euro in back taxes to Dublin, reports the Financial Times.
A 130-page judgment by the commission follows a three-year investigation into claims that two advance tax opinions issued by Dublin violated EU law by granting Apple an advantage not available to other companies.
The ruling was apparently circulated by competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager to her counterparts in the EU's executive branch this morning.
The decision will likely further tensions between Brussels and the United States which has urged the EU to drop the case. The US Treasury accused the commission of becoming a “supranational tax authority” that threatened international agreements on tax reform.
The commission is calling for a new tax assessment on Apple. How much Apple has to pay was not in the decision. However, people briefed on the matter expect the amount to reach billions of euros.
Earlier this month Tim Cook said. “I hope that we get a fair hearing. If we don’t, then we would obviously appeal it.”
“The government‘s case is very robust,” said Ireland’s finance ministry. “The minister has indicated previously that any adverse ruling should be appealed in the European courts and will recommend that course to cabinet.”
More details in the full report below...
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A 130-page judgment by the commission follows a three-year investigation into claims that two advance tax opinions issued by Dublin violated EU law by granting Apple an advantage not available to other companies.
The ruling was apparently circulated by competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager to her counterparts in the EU's executive branch this morning.
The decision will likely further tensions between Brussels and the United States which has urged the EU to drop the case. The US Treasury accused the commission of becoming a “supranational tax authority” that threatened international agreements on tax reform.
The commission is calling for a new tax assessment on Apple. How much Apple has to pay was not in the decision. However, people briefed on the matter expect the amount to reach billions of euros.
Earlier this month Tim Cook said. “I hope that we get a fair hearing. If we don’t, then we would obviously appeal it.”
“The government‘s case is very robust,” said Ireland’s finance ministry. “The minister has indicated previously that any adverse ruling should be appealed in the European courts and will recommend that course to cabinet.”
More details in the full report below...
Read More