Apple confident ahead of European Union tax judgement

DUBLIN, Nov 12, (AFP): Apple chief executive Tim Cook said he was feeling “pretty good” ahead of the European Union’s judgement on its Irish tax arrangements, as the company announced 1,000 new jobs in Ireland on Wednesday.

Ireland’s tax arrangements with the US tech giant are under investigation by the EU to see if there was a deal to secure jobs that amounts to illegal state aid, and a judgement is expected soon.

“I can’t say I know for sure what they’ll come back with,” Cook said from Apple’s European headquarters in Ireland’s second city, Cork, where he announced the extra jobs would be in place by mid-2017.

“I believe strongly that Ireland will be found that there was nothing wrong done and therefore Apple by connection,” he told national broadcaster RTE in an interview broadcast Wednesday night.

“If there’s an adverse ruling, Ireland is going to appeal and we’re going to support them because there was no special deal, there was no special arrangement.”

Apple has had a base at the southern city of Cork since 1980 and employs 5,000 people in Ireland. Cook announced earlier on Wednesday that the figure would increase to 6,000 over the next 18 months.

“That’s almost a quarter of our European workforce and we’re continuing to expand our facility there as well, which is our largest in Europe,” Cook said in a lecture earlier Wednesday at Trinity College Dublin university.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, said the jobs plan was a sign of Ireland’s economic recovery broadening and called it “a very welcome boost of confidence”.

Apple was one of the first global tech firms to set up in Ireland and has been followed by many top names such as Twitter, Microsoft and Google, earning the country the moniker “Europe’s Silicon Valley”.

Many US companies looking for a European base are drawn by Ireland’s English-speaking skilled workforce and its highly competitive tax rates, which have drawn controversy.