In early summer, the European Commission became interested in tax preferences that Apple received in Ireland. Investigation was initiated to determine whether the agreement does not violate the special circumstances of taxation between Apple and the tax agency in Ireland, concluded in 1991 and 2007, the rules of the European Union.
Investigation has been completed, and now the European Commission has accused Ireland of illegal tax benefits of the American corporation. The basis for the accusations became conclusions conduct investigations Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Now OECD has requested additional information on the Irish tax agreements with Apple and other companies, including Fiat and Starbucks. In addition, OECD considers Luxembourg and the Netherlands as part of a general investigation. Current Irish tax rate of 12.5% and so is the lowest in the European Union, but Apple as a result of agreements enjoyed a preferential rate of 1.9%.
Apple has said they do not violate any laws. «Apple is proud of the Irish branch of the company, our staff in Cork has 4,000. They serve our customers involved in the production, technical support and other important tasks ... Apple did not receive any additional preferences on the part of the state. We follow the letter of the law on a par with other companies that are doing business in Ireland, "- said the publication of Apple's CFO Luca Maestri.
The European Commission has given Apple a month to provide the necessary financial documents and agreements with the Government of Ireland, proving the innocence of the company.
Last year, the European Commission began to collect information on the tax arrangements applicable to multinational companies in a number of countries, including Ireland. This happened after the United States Senate, accused the Irish government to create a special tax regime for Apple, which has allowed corporations to avoid imposing tax payments worldwide.Then the supreme executive body of the EU also demanded that the ministries of finance of some countries to clarify the approach to taxation and to provide detailed information on large taxpayers to analyze legal or illegal methods they use.
Earlier, EU antitrust regulators launched an investigation in relation to other major companies such as Amazon, Starbucks and Fiat. The basis for the investigation are big tax benefits granted to these companies Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.