“It’s a false number, I have no idea where the number came from”, he said.
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“The European Commission has launched an effort to rewrite Apple’s history in Europe, ignore Ireland’s tax laws and upend the worldwide tax system in the process”, the company said.
Cook concluded his statements with a quip of strength, “we are not going to let an invalid ruling – a politically-based ruling – affect our commitment to Ireland”, the Financial Times reports.
Both Apple and Ireland have stated that they will appeal against the ruling.
Apple has warned that future investment by multinationals in Europe could be hit after it was ordered to pay a record-breaking €13bn (£11bn) in back taxes to Ireland.
The tax dispute is part of an ongoing fight over whether America’s largest global corporations pay adequate taxes throughout the world.
The corporate giant paid just $50 in tax for every million it made selling iPhones and iPads to most of the world outside America, the European Union claimed, equal to a tax rate of just 0.005% in 2014.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said US taxpayers could ultimately bear the brunt of the decision, if Apple is forced to make the payment, because the company then could deduct the billions it pays Ireland from the USA taxes it owes.
From his base in Cupertino, California, Mr Cook told Ireland’s state broadcaster RTE that the European Commission was over-reaching and attempting to retroactively target Apple and Irish laws with a political ruling. “That depends on what we find when we ask more questions”.
“I feel like Ireland stuck with Apple when it wasn’t easy to stick with Apple and now we’re sticking with Ireland”, he said. Kenny is propped up by a number of independent lawmakers from the left and right. Ireland is also expected to appeal, although the government postponed a decision on Wednesday. Irish Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has recommended that the decision be appealed. “I think it’s a desire to reallocate taxes that should be paid in the U.S.to the European Union”. “We are completely committed to Ireland”, he said, adding that the team there was “world-class”.
Apple’s Chief Executive Tim Cook denied there was a special deal between Apple and the Irish Government and said the deal was “maddening”.
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Now the Irish Government is also set to take on Brussels, believing that the European Commission is accusing a member state of acting illegally.
