EU countries demand slice of Apple tax bonanza

AFP, BRATISLAVA: Budget-squeezed EU countries will ask Brussels for their share of the billions in Irish back taxes demanded from tech giant Apple, officials said yesterday.
The European Commission, the EU’s powerful competition regulator, last month ordered Apple to reimburse a record 13 billion euros ($15 billion) in unpaid taxes in Ireland.
As part of its historic decision, which angered Washington, the commission said other EU countries could also claim a slice of the 13 billion euros.
“If it’s legally accurate, you can be sure that as minister of finance I will take it,” Austria’s Hans Joerg Schelling said on the sidelines of two days of talks with his EU counterparts.
“We Austrians are looking at it intensively,” Schelling said at the talks in Bratislava, Slovakia, adding that other member states—including Italy—were also considering a payout.
The commission argued that Dublin handed Apple favourable tax terms that amounted to state aid—illegal under its rules.
EU Competition Com-missioner Margrethe Vestager called Apple’s operations in Ireland a “sham”, designed to funnel revenue from throughout the European Union to avoid paying tax.

EU countries demand slice of Apple tax bonanza

AFP, BRATISLAVA: Budget-squeezed EU countries will ask Brussels for their share of the billions in Irish back taxes demanded from tech giant Apple, officials said yesterday. The European Commission, the EUs powerful competition regulator, last month ordered Apple to reimburse a record 13 billion euros ($15 billion) in unpaid taxes in Ireland. As part of its historic decision, which angered Washington, the commission said other EU countries could also claim a slice of the 13 billion euros. If its legally accurate, you can be sure that as minister of finance I will take it, Austrias Hans Joerg Schelling said on the sidelines of two days of talks with his EU counterparts. We Austrians are looking at it intensively, Schelling said at the talks in Bratislava, Slovakia, adding that other member statesincluding Italywere also considering a payout. The commission argued that Dublin handed Apple favourable tax terms that amounted to state aidillegal under its rules. EU Competition Com-missioner Margrethe Vestager called Apples operations in Ireland a sham, designed to funnel revenue from throughout the European Union to avoid paying tax.