Varadkar hails changes and says that big firms should pay their taxes
IRISH PREMIER Leo Varadkar has said he believes big companies should pay their taxes as he welcomed Apple chief executive Tim Cook to Dublin.
Mr Cook was in the Irish capital to accept an award for special recognition for investment in Ireland from the Investment Promotion and Development Agency in the National Concert Hall.
In 2016, it was ruled by the European Commission that the Irish state had given undue tax benefits worth €13bn to Apple, which is illegal under EU state aid rules, and said it allowed Apple to pay substantially less tax than other businesses.
Ireland was ordered to recover the illegal aid, plus interest, however the state and Apple are currently appealing against the ruling.
Political rivals have claimed this shows Irish governing party Fine Gael’s dedication to corporations rather than the public. Mr Varadkar was asked if he and Mr Cook discussed the tax bill, and said: “Not today, we have in the past, but it is before the courts so the courts will decide on that.”
He added: “I’m a firm believer that big companies should pay their taxes and that’s why we’ve changed the rules, we got rid of double Irish (a tax avoidance technique), of stateless corporations, we got rid of a lot of the loopholes that allowed big companies to avoid tax, which is why we’re taking so much money in now in corporation tax that we have closed those loopholes.
“Things are changing, there are going to be new international rules on corporation tax and we need to be part of shaping those rules, and we will be.”
Apple established its first operation in Europe in Cork in 1980.