Ireland Expects EU Decision in Apple State Aid Case This Fall -- Update
July 13 2016 - 2:47PM
Dow Jones News
By Natalia Drozdiak
BRUSSELS -- Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan on Wednesday
said he expected the European Union's top antitrust regulator to
rule in the fall on the long-running probe into Apple Inc.'s tax
arrangements with Ireland.
At a press conference in Ireland on Wednesday, Mr. Noonan said
following his meeting with EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager,
he now expects the decision to come in September or October,
according to a spokesman for Ireland's embassy to the EU. Mr.
Noonan met with Ms. Vestager in Brussels on Tuesday.
Mr. Noonan said he still has no indication of what the decision
would be, the spokesman said. The EU could order Ireland to
retrieve substantial sums from Apple in unpaid taxes.
The European Commission, the bloc's antitrust agency, opened a
formal probe into Apple's tax arrangements more than two years ago,
accusing Ireland that the deals it struck with the U.S. tech
company in 1991 and 2007 amounted to state aid.
An Apple spokeswoman pointed to previous statements by a company
executive saying it pays all the taxes it owes wherever the firm
operates.
Mr. Noonan previously had said a decision in the Apple case may
come in July, but, after the U.K.'s referendum to leave the EU, he
suggested the antitrust regulator may postpone its decision given
the economic turmoil caused by the Brexit vote.
Ireland previously has said it was confident its tax
arrangements with Apple didn't breach EU rules, and it would defend
"all aspects" of the case vigorously, in court if necessary.
The EU also is investigating Amazon.com Inc.'s tax arrangements
with Luxembourg.
At issue are the tax rulings, or so-called comfort letters,
governments hand to multinationals to give clarity on how a
specific tax will be calculated. These would be illegal if they
gave selective advantages to some companies.
Separately, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew also met with Ms.
Vestager while he was in Brussels on Wednesday.
Mr. Lew has been outspoken about his views on the EU's probes
into tax arrangements for multinationals, criticizing Ms. Vestager
of discriminating against U.S. companies -- a charge she has
denied. The U.S. argues the commission retroactively applies a
sweeping new state aid theory that disproportionately impacts
American companies.
Write to Natalia Drozdiak at natalia.drozdiak@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 13, 2016 14:32 ET (18:32 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024