Apple told to pay massive penalty for ‘illegal tax benefits’ in Ireland
APPLE has been ordered to repay a record €13bn plus interest after the European Commission said Ireland illegally slashed the iPhone-maker’s tax bill.The world’s richest company benefited from a "selective tax treatment" in Ireland that gave it a "significant advantage over other businesses", the EU regulator said Tuesday. This is the largest tax penalty in a three-year crackdown on sweetheart fiscal deals granted by EU nations.Apple and the Irish government have both vowed to fight the decision, which also risks stoking a fight with the US over taxation policies — with the US having already complained that Europe is unfairly targeting US companies and threatening global tax reforms."Ireland granted illegal tax benefits to Apple, which enabled it to pay substantially less tax than other businesses over many years," EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in an e-mailed statement. "This selective treatment allowed Apple to pay an effective corporate tax rate of 1% on its ...
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