Having previously said that he expected to receive the European Commission’s verdict on Apple’s Irish tax arrangements by Christmas, Ireland’s Finance Minister Michael Noonan now claims that an announcement is likely to be delayed util next year.
The delay in the long-running investigation is the result of regulators asking for additional information from the Irish government, which will take several weeks to gather.
The E.C.’s investigation centers around whether or not Apple benefited from “illegal tax sweeteners” in Ireland, where Apple earlier this month revealed it is creating 1,000 new jobs.
Apple is one of several multinational companies to have their European tax affairs examined by antitrust regulators, examining whether they received “sweetheart deals” giving them an unfair, illegal advantage over rivals.
Starbucks and Fiat Chrysler have both been found to have received such deals, and will have to repay tens of millions of euros as a result. Apple has denied any wrongdoing, with Tim Cook saying in 2013 that, “We have no special deal with the Irish government.”
Due to Apple’s size and the scale it operates on, any fine issued by the European Commission could lead to repayment of billions of euros worth of back-taxes.
The additional information for the E.C. probe was ordered by E.U. Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
Source: Silicon Republic
