If Ireland was to receive such a large sum of money, it has been insisted that the State would not be able to use it for anything but paying off the country’s billions of euro of national debt.
Advertisement
Ireland reinforced its opposition to any potential European Union tax decisions that it would find unfavorable amid a looming ruling on the country’s tax practices with Apple Inc., reports Bloomberg. Irish officials expect the commission to declare the arrangements illegal under state aid rules. The long-awaited decision will say that Ireland should collect a significant sum in tax from the USA multinational.
Early estimates were that Apple could be asked to repay up to €19 billion in tax.
However, an Independent Alliance spokesman said a final position on the issue had not been reached, and the group is expected to meet this week to discuss the situation.
Senior figures fear that a negative European Union judgement will leave Ireland’s worldwide reputation in tatters.
The EU is expected to rule in coming days that Apple’s tax arrangements with the Irish Government were illegal under state aid rules, a decision that is expected to land the tech giant with a huge tax bill.
One minister said an adverse European Union finding will be “embarrassing” and cause “reputational damage”, as the country is seeking to recover from the economic crash. It concerns two tax rulings which the Revenue gave to Apple in 1991 and 2007.
Advertisement
The commission has been investigating whether Apple’s tax deals with Ireland, which have allowed the company to pay very little tax on income earned throughout Europe, amounted to state aid. “It’s farcical. These parties need to get real about the Irish government’s cosy relationship with Apple and its role in facilitating industrial-scale tax avoidance”. “You have to pay legitimate tax”, he said.
