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Apple has agreed to start paying €13bn of disputed taxes to the Irish government after the European Commission found the latter had granted the company illegal tax benefits (tinyurl.com/y7ys24g9).
The money will be held in an escrow account while both parties continue their dispute with the EU. It is expected that the full recovery will be effected by the end of September.
The Irish finance minister, Paschal Donohoe, said: ‘The government fundamentally disagrees with the ruling of the commission. However, as committed members of the EU, Ireland is intent on complying with our binding legal obligations in this regard. This is the largest recovery fund of its kind ever to be established and, due to the complexity of such, together with our duty to comply with EU procurement rules, it has taken some time to get to this point.’
Keith O’Donnell, Taxand Luxembourg, said: ‘While it appears that Apple has conceded, in reality the money will be held in escrow and invested for Apple’s benefit as the company continues its battle in the courts.’
But he warned that the news would be unsettling for many corporates: ‘The commission may have good intentions towards creating a more level playing field, but these rulings erode business and investment confidence and undermine multilateral efforts to address these issues such as the OECD-led actions on base erosion and profit shifting.’
