Poll: Is the government right to appeal the EU's decision on Apple's tax affairs in Ireland?

The Irish government insists it didn’t offer Apple a sweetheart tax deal.

By Conor McMahon Deputy editor, Fora

APPLE’S TAX ARRANGEMENTS with Ireland are once again in the spotlight after it emerged the EU could be about to order the tech giant to pay hundreds of millions of euro in back taxes.

The government is expected to appeal any negative decision, which could bring a windfall of up to €19 billion to the Irish exchequer, and insists that Ireland did not offer a so-called sweetheart tax deal to the company.

The EU is expected to hand Ireland a figure for the tax bill, but the exact amount will be calculated by the Revenue Commissioners. Pundits speculate that the total could be anywhere between a couple of hundred million euro and €19 billion.

The European Commission has been investigating whether Apple got a sweetheart tax deal in Ireland over a period spanning from 1991 to 2007. It has already made preliminary findings that Irish officials gave Apple a “selective” advantage in its tax dealings.

Last week, the US Treasury accused the commission of undermining the international tax system by probing into alleged sweetheart deals between EU countries and large American companies like Apple, Starbucks and Amazon.

The government is appealing the EU decision – even though it would add a substantial sum to the public purse – because of the negative impact it could have on attracting foreign investment to Ireland.

With that in mind, we’re asking Fora readers: Is the government right to appeal the EU’s decision on Apple’s tax affairs in Ireland?