Ireland to receive €14.3 billion from Apple, tax appeal still pending

Ireland has received the entire tax arrears of 13.1 billion euros and 1.2 billion euros in interest from Apple. The iPhone maker had to pay that from the EU. It is not yet certain whether Ireland will keep the money, as both the country and Apple have appealed.

Ireland’s finance minister has announced that Apple has paid the full amount, Reuters writes. Ireland started collecting the amount in May, in that month the first part of 1.5 billion euros was paid. According to the minister, people have been appointed to manage the money with low-risk investments.

Because Apple has now paid the full amount to Ireland, European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager will propose to drop the lawsuit against Ireland, a spokesperson for the European Commission said. In October last year, the European Commission referred the case to the EU court, because Ireland had not yet asked for the money from Apple after the deadline had already passed.

In 2016, the European Commission ruled that Apple paid too little tax in Ireland on its profits. That would have resulted in an unfair competitive advantage over other companies and it would be a form of state aid.

Both Apple and Ireland appealed. Both parties claim that Irish and European law was acted upon. The Irish finance minister said the appeal has been given a high priority, but it will be years before a final decision is reached.

European Commission infographic