Commission publishes Apple tax decision

EU says Ireland gave Apple a sweetheart tax deal.

The European Commission Monday released the non-confidential details behind its ruling in August that Ireland gave illegal tax benefits to Apple worth up to €13 billion.

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Dublin, in advance of the Commission’s release this morning, published a summary of the legal arguments in its appeal filed with the General Court of the European Union, seeking to annul the Commission’s decision.

“Ireland does not accept the Commission’s analysis, which is why we have lodged an application with the General Court of the European Union to annul the whole decision,” the Department of Finance said in a tersely-worded statement. “Ireland did not give favorable tax treatment to Apple — the full amount of tax was paid in this case and no state aid was provided.”

According to the Commission, Apple paid an effective corporate tax rate of 1 percent on its European profits in 2003, down to 0.005 percent in 2014, significantly below Ireland’s tax rate of 12.5 percent — already the lowest in the EU — giving it an unfair tax advantage over competitors.

In the summary of its appeal, Dublin outlined eight legal arguments. These included the allegation that the Commission had misapplied state aid law, exceeded its powers and interfered with national tax sovereignty, failed to provide proper reasoning for its decision, misunderstood Irish law, didn’t follow procedure and wrongly invoked certain legal rules.