FINANCE MINISTER MICHAEL Noonan said he expects the European Commission’s investigation into Ireland’s tax arrangement with the US multinational Apple will be dropped.
In Brussels this evening, Noonan was asked if he was concerned that there could be further investigations into Ireland’s tax arrangements. He said that he believed it would be the opposite, stating it is “more likely that that investigation will be dropped rather than there will be further investigations”.
While he added that he was speculating, he said:
My legal advice is that the Irish authorities will win the case quite easily and that there isn’t a very strong case by the Commission.
Ireland was brought into specific focus at hearings in the US Senate when Apple’s CFO claimed that the Ireland had given the company a special 2% tax rate over 30 years ago.
That claim has been repeatedly rejected by the government, with Taoiseach Enda Kenny saying that the effective rate of tax is around 11.9% in Ireland.
Noonan added this evening that Apple had paid everything in accordance with law on their profits in Ireland.
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