Ireland to be dragged in front of Europe’s highest court for refusing to accept €13billion in Apple back tax
The cash would be enough to fund the entire health service for a year
Ireland faces legal action for failing to recover €13billion euros in tax from US tech giant Apple after European competition authorities blasted the country over a sweetheart deal.
The European Commission said Ireland had not recouped any of the money despite a year passing since it ruled that the iPad and iPhone maker had gained an illegal advantage over other businesses by paying significantly less tax.
While the competition watchdog slapped the country with a deadline of January 3 this year, Ireland is no closer to raking in the funds and is only expected to have pinpointed the exact amount of aid it dished out to Apple by March 2018.
It comes as the Commission took a double swipe at US tech industry by landing Amazon with a bill of around €250 million in back taxes after stating that the firm’s sweetheart tax deal with Luxembourg broke state aid rules.
Margrethe Vestager, Europe’s competition commissioner, said: “Ireland has to recover up to 13 billion euros in illegal state aid from Apple.
“However, more than one year after the commission adopted this decision, Ireland has still not recovered the money, also not in part.
“We of course understand that recovery in certain cases may be more complex than in others, and we are always ready to assist.
“But member states need to make sufficient progress to restore competition. That is why we have today decided to refer Ireland to the EU Court for failing to implement our decision.”
Solidarity TD Paul Murphy claimed the failure to collect the money from Apple was “shameful”.
He said: “Let us remember when the prospect of the European Commission bringing Ireland to the European Court of Justice was used as a stick to beat people into accepting some form of water charges.
“It seems when it comes to taxes on working people, the Government jumps to attention. When it comes to taxes on the richest corporations in the world, the Government will spend public money to try to resist collecting them.”
Mr Murphy said the Irish establishment had promoted a “corporate tax haven strategy” and its use-by date was fast approaching as a result of the Commission’s inquiry, US President Donald Trump’s policies and Brexit.
Last week a report by our public spending watchdog, the Comptroller & Auditor General, revealed that 13 of the top 100 companies with the highest taxable income in the Republic had an effective rate of less than 1% in 2015.
It said these companies had either used a double taxation relief to offset Irish corporation tax at 12.5% or R&D tax credit, or both systems, to reduce their bills.
