Apple chief Tim Cook on Thursday, September 1, slammed a European Commission ruling demanding the U.S. tech behemoth pay Ireland €13 billion in back-taxes as “political crap”, urging the Irish government to launch an appeal.
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Cook added, he would “love” to see the Irish government appeal against the commission’s ruling to pay 13 billion in back tax to the Irish government.
Cook told the Irish Independent newspaper that the European Union penalty was “total political crap”.
She argues that the commission’s use of state-aid laws to force companies to pay more tax risks undermining the work of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which has been pushing for more transparency around the tax paid by multinationals and ways to block the use of artificial structures created to cut tax bills.
He added to the Irish Independent: “I think we’ll work very closely together, as we have the same motivation”.
After a three-year investigation, the Commission said Ireland had enabled Apple to pay substantially less than other businesses, in effect paying a corporate tax rate of no more than 1%.
When she announced her decision, Vestager said Apple paid an effective corporate tax rate of 0.005 percent in Ireland in 2014 and argued Apple had an unfair advantage over rivals.
The rub of the issue is that both Apple and Ireland claim that the tech giant was fully compliant with Irish sovereign tax rules.
While the EC has deemed the agreements as illegal state aid, Apple and Ireland have repeatedly said the company “follows the law”.
On Thursday, Mr. Cook, in an interview with Irish state broadcaster RTE, appeared to go a step further, saying Apple could start to move some of the profits it has earned from its global operations to the US next year.
The ratings firm said its A+ rating on Ireland, which is four levels below its top-notch AAA stance, is unaffected by the commission’s decision, which Taoiseach Enda Kenny is trying to get Cabinet approval to appeal. “We believe that makes us the highest taxpayer in Ireland that year”.
Washington has lined up with the tech giant, accusing the European Union of trying to grab tax revenue that should go to the U.S. government.
The European Commission has already ruled that Starbucks has benefited from tax arrangements in the Netherlands that constitute state aid, a decision which is being appealed.
Commission’s €13 billion tax ruling ‘an outrage, ‘ says CEO.
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Apple was found to be holding over $US181 billion in accumulated profits offshore, more than any U.S. company, in a study published past year by two left-leaning nonprofit groups, a policy critics say is created to avoid paying United States taxes.
