Although both Apple and the Irish government are expected to appeal the ruling, the company will still have to deposit the money in an escrow account – something Cook confirmed in his interview.
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“When you’re accused of doing something that is so foreign to your worth, it brings out an indignation in you, and that’s how we feel”.
“I’m pretty confident that the [Irish] Government will do the right thing”.
The EU’s most powerful business regulator has dismissed accusations of political bias from Apple chief Tim Cook. “Apple is paying just 50 euros on every million euros that they earn”, he said. Despite what’s going on, Cook says Apple will continue with its plan to expand in Cork, noting that the company is “very committed to Ireland”. The EC said that in terms of its worldwide profits, Apple had created a phony company that allowed it to reduce its tax rate on most of its profits to.005 percent at one point.
The European Commission’s Competition chief Margrethe Vestager, asked if she accepted that statement, told a news conference in Brussels: “No, I will not”.
On Tuesday, after a almost 3-year-long investigation, the European Commission ruled that the tax benefits accorded to the us tech giant in Ireland flouted the bloc’s stringent rules against state aid, and were thus illegal.
He told Irish broadcaster RTE that Apple had not been given preferential tax breaks.
The $400m claim was based on the statutory corporate tax rate in Ireland of 12.5 per cent, claimed Cook, who added that Apple’s commitment to Ireland “has not been diminished one iota” by the ruling. Ireland’s Independent Alliance party says it is reviewing the decision and needs to consult with Noonan, tax officials, and independent experts.
Indeed, Cook claimed that the EC’s figures are just plain wrong. “I think it’s a desire to reallocate taxes that should be paid in the USA to the European Union”, he said.
Cook took the same line, telling the Irish Independent he believed the commission’s move arose from “a desire to reallocate taxes that should be paid in the U.S.to the European Union”.
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Despite the mammoth tax bill, Apple insists it will not abandon Ireland, where it has about 6,000 employees and is planning to build a huge data centre. “Because I don’t think the courts will hear any political opinions or feelings, they want the facts of the case and that is what we have to produce”.
