Apple says the company is “committed to Ireland”, regardless of the outcome of a European Commission investigation into Irish tax deals, according to the firm’s VP of European operations as stated to a European Parliament panel on Tuesday.
“We feel that we’ve paid every cent of tax that is due in Ireland”, said argued Cathy Kearney according to Bloomberg. “We don’t feel that there has been state aid involved and I suppose we look forward to that outcome happening at the end of the day and being vindicated in that way. I would say that the Irish government also agrees with that view”.
The EU commission is currently investigating if Ireland gave preferential tax treatment to Apple, which would be considered illegal state aid under European Union regulations. EU countries are however allowed to provide tax breaks, but they have to do so equally in the interests of competition.
Apple bases its European operations in Ireland, where some of its products including iMacs are manufactured. Much of the international revenue the firm makes goes via Ireland to minimise tax obligations. A data centre is also planned in Galway Country if it passes environmental scrutiny.
The iPhone maker was originally said to be facing the European Parliament on Wednesday. Other global corporations such as Google, IKEA, and McDonald’s also appeared on Tuesday to defend their respective tax arrangements.
SOURCE: Apple Insider.
Larry Banks is a keen follower of technology and finance. He has worked for a variety of online publications, writing about a diverse range of topics including mobile networks, patents, and Internet video delivery technologies.