The authorities of Ireland recognized the need to accept 13 billion euros from Apple

The government of Ireland recognized that the country will have to accept 13 billion euros of taxes that were unpaid Apple, contrary to the previous statements of a number of politicians, CNBC reports.

The corresponding conclusion prepared by the Ministry of Finance of the country was sent to members of the Ireland Parliament on the eve of the meeting, which will consider the issue of challenging the decision of the European Commission, obliging the American company to return underpayed taxes. The document notes that in case of payment of funds should be transferred to a special account.

Recall that according to the conclusions of the European Commission, made following the investigation started in 2014, Ireland provided the company with unjustified tax benefits, violating the EU rules on the provision of state assistance. As a result, Apple paid much less taxes than other companies.

So, thanks to an agreement with the country's authorities in 2003, Apple paid income tax of 1%, and in 2014 the tax rate was completely reduced to 0.005%. In addition, the Apple scheme used allowed the company to avoid taxation for almost all the profits received in the European market, since all sales were recorded in Ireland.

Earlier, the country's authorities reported their intention to appeal the decision of the European Commission. So, the Minister of Finance of Ireland Michael Nunan stated that the country did not provide Apple tax benefits, and promised to raise the issue of challenging the decision before the Cabinet of Ministers.

In turn, Apple said that the European Commission is trying to rewrite the history of the company in Europe, and also ignores the tax legislation of Ireland and turns the international tax system. The company promised to achieve the cancellation of the regulator’s decision.

Low tax rates on corporate profit are the cornerstone of the economic policy of Ireland. The basic tax rate in the country is 12.5% ​​and is the minimum among Western Europe. Thanks to this, in Ireland there are units of more than 700 large American companies that created 140 thousand jobs in the country. If Apple still has to comply with the requirements for tax reimbursement, then this payment will become the largest in the history of the EU.