Apple Pays Ireland 1st Tranche of Disputed Taxes

Apple has paid €1.5 billion ($1.76 billion) into an escrow account set up by the Irish government to hold €13 billion in disputed taxes. The European Commission ordered Apple in August 2016 to pay the taxes it ruled it had received as illegal state aid, as part of its wider drive against what it says are sweetheart tax deals usually used by smaller states in the bloc to lure multinational companies and their jobs and investment, Reuters reported. Both Apple and Dublin are appealing the ruling, saying the iPhone maker’s tax treatment was in line with Irish and European Union law. Last October the commission said it was taking Dublin to the European Court of Justice over delays in recovering the money that was due to be recovered in January 2017, four months on from the initial ruling in August 2016. The commission has been pressurizing Ireland to recover the taxes as soon as possible to allow it to close the EU Court of Justice’s action for missing the deadline.