Ireland “profoundly disagrees” with the EU’s Apple ruling
Ireland's finance minister has said he "disagrees profoundly" with the verdict handed down from the EU in its Apple tax probe.
Brussels has told Ireland to recover up to €13bn (£1.1bn) in back taxes from the tech giant for breaching rules on state aid.
Michael Noonan said the country maintains that all tax due has been paid by Apple and did not give preferable treatment to the company.
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He will seek permission from the Irish Cabinet to pursue an appeal.
"I disagree profoundly with the Commission’s decision. Our tax system is founded on the strict application of the law, as enacted by the Oireachtas (the Irish parliament), without exception," said Noonan.
"The decision leaves me with no choice but to seek Cabinet approval to appeal the decision before the European Courts. This is necessary to defend the integrity of our tax system; to provide tax certainty to business; and to challenge the encroachment of EU state aid rules into the sovereign member state competence of taxation.
"It is important that we send a strong message that Ireland remains an attractive and stable location of choice for long-term substantive investment. Apple has been in Ireland since the 1980s and employs thousands of people in Cork. The company has continued to expand its operations in Ireland in recent times.”