There is simply no question that the Irish authorities sought to give Apple any kind of special tax deal.
That is according to Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan who has stated that “detailed and comprehensive responses have been provided to the EU Commission demonstrating that the appropriate amount of Irish tax was charged in accordance with the relevant legislation, that no selective advantage was given and that there was no State aid”.
Making his comments in a written Dáil response to Fianna Fáil’s Michael McGrath, Minister Noonan said: “This a priority matter and Ireland has co-operated fully with the process to date and will continue to do so.
“I remain of the view that there was no breach of State aid rules in this case and that the legislative provisions were correctly applied,” he said.
“In the event that the Commission forms the view that there was State aid, Ireland is entitled to challenge this decision in the European courts.
“As the Government have already indicated, we will take that course of action, if necessary, to continue to vigorously defend the Irish position.”
In his written reply, Minister Noonan told Deputy McGrath that he would like to emphasise that the Commission has not made a final determination in the matter and there is no formal timeline for when the final decision will be made in the case.
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