Apple’s massive tax bill from the European Commission is tantamount to an ill-advised “land grab” and could be reversed in court, claims Feargal O’Rourke, the man who heads up the tax practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Ireland.
Speaking at the Irish Times corporation tax summit in Dublin, O’Rourke said he is confident the Commission’s decision will be overturned by the European Court of Justice.
In addition to his work at PricewaterhouseCoopers, O’Rourke regularly advises the Irish government on tax policy. He is one of the main architects of the incentives Ireland offers multinationals like Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Apple — although he has stated that, “Under no circumstances is Ireland a tax haven.”
Among his initiatives has been persuading regulators to get rid of a withholding tax on any profits corporations want to move out of Ireland, thereby making it easier to shuttle profits internationally.
In his speech, O’Rourke backed up the government on disputing the European Commission’s massive Apple tax bill, and suggested that the E.C. was “ignoring the law” by taking the steps that it has.
Tax attacks
Apple was handed a whopping $14 billion bill for allegedly unpaid back taxes in Europe last August. The European Commission claims Apple took advantage of illegal state aid allowing it to route its profits through Ireland. The investigation alleged that Apple paid as little as 0.005 percent on all European profits in 2014.
Tim Cook has denied any wrongdoing, while Apple has launched a legal challenge against the tax demand. In this it has been backed by Ireland, where it is a major investor.
Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell has previously said Apple was targeted by European legislators for largely symbolic reasons. “Apple is a convenient target because it generates lots of headlines,” he said.
The European Court of Justice case with Apple will continue to develop this year, although — much like the never-ending Samsung lawsuit — it is likely that litigation of some sort will continue for years.
Back in September, Reuters noted that the court usually backs the European commission, although this is not always the case. “Some lawyers say ECJ judges are influenced by political considerations and that if the Commission’s rulings prompt a major spat with the United States and member states don’t support the Commission, the court may hesitate to enforce a tax demand of up to 13 billion euros plus interest,” Reuters‘ report said.
We guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Source: Irish Times
