“We now find ourselves in the unusual position of being ordered to retroactively pay additional taxes to a government that says we don’t owe them any more than we’ve already paid”, that company claimed in an open letter published in response, following the judgment.
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“American companies or any company that uses all these different tax plans and at the end of the day pays no tax, that’s not fair”.
The European Commission (EC) had asked Apple to pay Ireland unpaid taxes of up to 13 billion Euros in what can be seen as a landmark ruling.
Brussels launched an inquiry three years ago into tax breaks that Ireland offered iPhone-maker Apple, in the latest of a series of anti-trust cases targeting major United States corporations that have also included Starbucks, McDonald΄s and Amazon.
Earlier, Apple CEO Tim Cook dismissed the tax evasion allegations as “total political crap”. The commission denied that allegation.
A Irish government spokesman also said on Friday that a motion will be sent to the parliament on Wednesday.
Speaking at the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, he denied Brussels was making a stand against the U.S. by focusing on their leading businesses.
But the case is anything but closed, as both Apple and Ireland have chose to appeal the ruling.
A spokeswoman for Apple declined to comment.
Noonan said: “I believe that there are some very important principles at stake in this case and that a robust legal challenge before the courts is essential to defend Ireland’s interests”. Recently, tax concessions in Luxembourg and Netherlands involving Fiat and Starbucks respectively have also been found to be unlawful.
“This is not a decision against the United States of America”, said Mr Juncker.
Asked if he found himself in a hard position, given Mr Noonan’s comments saying the decision was politically motivated and a strong denial by European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker, Mr Hogan said his obligation was to fulfil his role as a European Commissioner for Agriculture.
“We are applying the rules …”
Many fear the result could mean more profits earned by USA corporations could be flowing into the pockets of European tax offices. “Paying taxes is not optional”.
Meanwhile, former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern insisted that he never had contact with Revenue over a firm’s tax affairs. The report goes on to say the U.S. would “consider potential responses should the Commission continue its present course”.
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Mr. Dijsselbloem is in conflict with the commission over its ruling in October previous year that the Netherlands, where he is finance minister, offered a sweetheart deal to coffee chain Starbucks Corp. that amounted to an illegal subsidy.
