The European Union’s imposition of a 13 billion euro ($19.2 billion) back tax bill on USA tech giant Apple is “total political crap”, the company’s chief Tim Cook says.
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In both interviews, Cook said Apple remained committed to Ireland. Apple CEO Tim Cook has continued this tirade today in the Irish press, with a newspaper column in the Independent and a rare radio interview (with RTE’s Paschal Sheehy). “And I think that (anti-US sentiment) is one reason why we could have been targeted”.
“There are other possibilities too, but I think it’s clear there is a desire to harmonise tax rates across the EU”. EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the arrangement allowed Apple to pay a tax rate of 0.005 percent. It’s worth pointing out that the Commission did not make any comment about Apple’s worldwide tax payment, just those in Ireland based on European income.
“It’s total political crap”, Cook said of the figure. Mr. Cook told The Washington Post in August that the company won’t bring the money back “until there’s a fair rate” but said he was optimistic of corporate tax changes next year.
Apple and Dublin say the US company’s tax treatment was in line with Irish and European Union law and they will appeal the ruling, which is part of a drive against what the EU says are sweetheart tax deals usually used by smaller states in the bloc to lure multinational companies and their jobs and investment.
“No one did anything wrong here and we need to stand together”.
“Member states can not give tax benefits to selected companies – this is illegal under EU state aid rules”, said the European competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
The EU has been going after the sweetheart tax deals that smaller states in the bloc have offered to multinational companies in an effort to lure jobs and investment. Apple immediately refuted any wrongdoing and has already said the Irish government will appeal.
Earlier this week, Apple found itself in the midst of yet another tax scandal.
We can agree too that Apple’s cosy European Union arrangements should never have been permitted.
On Tuesday, the EC ruled that Apple would have to pay €13 billion ($14.5 billion) in back taxes to Ireland.
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But European officials have stood by the decision, suggesting that usa law encourages tax avoidance among corporations, and maintaining that Ireland’s tax arrangements constituted a form of illegal state aid that benefited Apple at the expense of other businesses.
