EU, Apple ‘Nearing Deal’ On Tax Dispute
The Irish Government is said to be nearing a deal with Apple that would protect the state from any losses that could arise while it holds in escrow the “state aid” money the EU has ordered the tech giant to pay back.
Bloomberg reported that an individual familiar with the matter had explained that an agreement on the terms for recovering the alleged state aid “may come within weeks.”
Bloomberg said that the Irish Government “wants to make sure it isn’t liable for any drop in the value of the fund while the case winds its way through the EU courts.”
Last year a Commission investigation concluded that two tax rulings provided by the Irish Government to Apple had “substantially and artificially lowered the tax paid by Apple in Ireland since 1991.” It estimated the amount of illegal state aid to be recovered by the Irish authorities at around EUR13bn (USD15.4bn), plus interest.
Both the Irish Government and Apple have appealed the ruling. Last month, Ireland announced the launch of a procurement process for an escrow agent/custodian. The recovery amount will be placed into an escrow fund, and the sums will be released once the European courts have issued their final ruling on the Government’s appeal.
According to Bloomberg, Apple commented: “We continue to cooperate with Ireland on the recovery process the Commission has mandated, but remain confident that once the General Court of the EU has reviewed all the evidence it will overturn the Commission’s decision.”
