[ad_1]
Apple has handed over 14.3 billion euros ($ 16.7 billion) to the Irish government, representing taxes owed under a 2016 European Commission ruling plus interest.
A few years ago, the Commission's competition department decided that Apple had received € 13 billion of illegal state aid from Ireland and asked the Irish authorities to recover the money.
Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has tackled the extremely low tax rates paid by some multinationals in the EU as a competition problem, as some giants get them, but not the smaller competitors.
In the case of Apple and Ireland, Apple (aapl) paid an effective corporate tax of less than 1%, thanks to agreements with the authorities of that country in 1991 and 2007. The standard tax rate for companies in Ireland is 12.5%. On the other hand, Apple provides thousands of jobs in Ireland, which is its international base.
Vestager confirmed Tuesday that Ireland had received the full amount after the start of payments in May.
The money is not yet in the coffers of the Irish tax authorities. Apple is still appealing the decision of the Commission, so it is in an escrow account until the end of this case.
Moreover, the Commission said Wednesday it was abandoning a similar case involving McDonald's (mcd) and Luxembourg. Vestager's department took three years to investigate the tax provisions of the fast food chain in the small European country, but she said that "double non-taxation in this case. "
The management of Vestager opted for the other solution in some other cases concerning Luxembourg, especially that concerning Amazon.
Source link
