Search Share Prices
Apple agrees plan for repayment of Ireland's 13bn back taxes
(WebFG News) - Apple is set to start paying the 13bn of back taxes it owes Ireland in May, the government revealed on Tuesday.
Irish finance minister Pascal Donohoe said all the payments would be made via an escrow account by the end of the third quarter of 2018.
The European Commission ruled in 2016 that the Irish government had been unfairly lenient over Apple's tax and forced the tech giant to pay 13bn back in taxes. Both the firm and the Irish Government disagree with the decision and are still appealing the ruling.
Donohoe said that the government's appeal was likely to begin in autumn.
Last October, the European Commission said it would be taking Dublin to court for delays in collecting the funds.
"The Government fundamentally disagrees with the ruling of the Commission. However, as committed members of the EU, Ireland is intent on complying with our binding legal obligations in this regard," Donohoe said.
Apple is set to publish their Q1 results next week. Michael Hewson, analyst at CMC Markets said today: "Apple shares have been hit hard in recent days over concerns about a slowdown in handset sales so todays warning by Austrian chipmaker AMS that sales in the latest quarter would be significantly weaker than forecast.
This warning by another of Apple's main suppliers "suggests the real possibility that we may well be past peak iPhone", he said, or it could be that current price points have been pushed beyond the point at which they are sustainable.