Ireland set for a €14bn big Apple windfall
EU ruling due on back taxes owed by us tech giant
IRELAND could be in for a €14billion windfall next week if an EU court rules Apple owes us a massive sum in back taxes.
The Government was notified yesterday that the decision will be announced on Wednesday.
It follows an appeal against an EU ruling for the US tech giant to pay nearly €14billion.
The European Commission ordered the firm to fork out the taxes it said were owed in 2016.
But Apple and Ireland began an appeal against the decision and the cash has been sitting in a holding account which has now cost the Irish taxpayer close to €50million.
In a statement, the Department of Finance said: “The State has been formally notified that the General Court of the European Union will deliver its judgment in the Apple
State Aid case on July 15.” Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said that despite Ireland being the most indebted nation in the developed world, the State will try not to take the windfall.
He added: “I think that no matter what the judgment is, this case will almost certainly be appealed by one party or another to the European Court of Justice.”
The country’s debt agency has invested the disputed taxes in lowrisk bonds which have been losing millions of euro.
The escrow account racked up a loss of €40million in 2019, up from €16million the previous year, the National Treasury Management Agency confirmed.
The cost of managing the fund also rocketed to €7million last year.
This means while the Government will be forced to borrow billions of euro due to costs associated with the pandemic, it is losing tens of millions for refusing to take €14billion which the EU ruled is owed to Ireland.
How the fund has performed in 2020 remains unknown but its value is expected to decline further.