The Financial Times reports the long-running investigation into Apple’s tax arrangements in Ireland has been expanded. The European Commission is reportedly asking for more information about the arrangement from the Irish government.
FT.com, via 9to5Mac:
While Irish authorities had expected the case to be concluded soon, they have instead been sent bulky sets of supplementary questions, meaning it will be difficult to reach a final verdict until after the 2016 election, which is expected as early as February […]
The Irish finance ministry confirmed that the government was supplying the requested additional information to the commission. “We do not expect any decision until after the new year,” said a spokesman.
Ireland, looking to lure Apple to Ireland as a base for its European operations, offered a special tax deal to the Cupertino firm, allowing Apple to pay 2.5% in corporation taxes, instead of the usual 12.5% tariff.
If the ruling goes against Apple it could face paying billions of Euros in uncollected taxes, even though any such ruling would find the Irish government to have broken the law, not Apple itself. The company warned shareholders about this possibility earlier this year.
The EC has already found similar sweetheart deals with Starbucks and Fiat in Luxembourg and the Netherlands to be illegal.
