In a separate interview on Thursday with Irish state broadcaster RTE, Cook claimed that Apple had paid $800 million in taxes on profits in 2014.
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Apple plans to fight the European Union order, which Cook characterized as unfair. “There should be a public discussion about it”.
The EU executive this week retroactively scrapped a tax deal Apple AAPL.O had with Ireland, arguing the technology giant was effectively paying a 1 percent tax rate on its profits.
The commission ruled that Apple had received favorable tax terms that amounted to state aid – illegal under its rules. Now those provisions total about $30 billion, Apple says. “They just picked that number from I don’t know where”, Cook said.
Apple paid taxes at the 12.5% rate – a total of $400 million – in 2014, he said.
Mr Cook said the numbers had been set out in the company’s quarterly accounts and that Apple paid 400 million USA dollars corporation tax in Ireland in 2014, another 400 million United States dollars of similarly classed tax in the U.S. and set aside billions more for tax bills in America that year.
Cook added that his company “has nothing to apologize” for and that the Irish government had “done absolutely nothing wrong”, saying that Dublin was being “picked on”.
However, while waxing nostalgic about the long relationship Apple has had with Ireland, Cook elaborated on the defense he laid out in a letter to customers published earlier this week in the wake of the EC ruling.
“We will be able to make a decision but it is appropriate that we give this the time it needs”.
The Irish government also wants the ruling reversed because it can effect their low-tax base for overseas companies.
Vestager said Apple had improperly routed taxable income to a head office that only existed on paper and could not have generated such profits.
The former chief economist at the World Bank said the State knew what it was doing with regard to agreeing tax deals with the U.S. tech company. “And I think that (anti-US sentiment) is one reason why we could have been targeted”. “And as with any new laws, they should be applied going forward – not retroactively”.
The tech firm is pressing ahead with plans for expansion in Cork.
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Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said he profoundly disagreed with the decision. In a public letter to Apple customers on August 30, Cook wrote: “We are committed to Ireland and we plan to continue investing there, growing and serving our customers with the same level of passion and commitment”.
