Irish cabinet decides to appeal Apple tax ruling

The European Union’s antitrust regulator demanded Tuesday that Ireland recoup the taxes from Apple, alleging that arrangements the government offered the company in 1991 and 2007 allowed it to pay around 1% to nearly zero tax on its European profits between 2003 and 2014. The EC claims that in 2014 Apple paid just 0.005% of its European profits in tax, while Apple says that it paid $400M in tax in the same year.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said he makes “no apology whatsoever” for defending the right to appeal the European Commission finding that Ireland had given illegal state aid worth €13bn to Apple.

The Commission announced its ruling on Tuesday, saying that Apple had benefited from an illegal tax deal in Ireland.

“I’m virtually certain that Apple is not going to pay 35 percent on all of its profits going forward”, Gale said.

“It’s total political crap”, Cook said of the EU’s ruling to the Irish news publication Independent. But Ireland is keen to maintain its reputation as a business-friendly country with low tax rates, and getting this decision overturned is a crucial part of that. “I think we need to accept this decision”.

He went on to call the ruling “maddening” and said, “When you’re accused of doing something that is so foreign to your values, it brings out an outrage in you”.

Ireland is turning its back on a massive tax windfall from Apple.

“It’s disappointing, it’s clear that this comes from a political place, it has no basis in fact or in law, and unfortunately it’s one of those things we have to work through”, he said. The Irish tax authority has also disputed the ruling.

What will worry Apple is the potential public reaction to the tax dispute.

The Dáil will be recalled on Wednesday for a debate and vote on the issue, while the minority government has also promised a review of the tax paid by multinationals.

A motion will be presented in the Irish parliament next Wednesday for an official endorsement of the decision.

The European Commission has been investigating Apple since 2013, according to Law.com.