Ireland Expects EU Decision in Apple State Aid Case This Fall -- Update

By Natalia Drozdiak 

BRUSSELS -- Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan on Wednesday said he expected the European Union's top antitrust regulator to rule in the fall on the long-running probe into Apple Inc.'s tax arrangements with Ireland.

At a press conference in Ireland on Wednesday, Mr. Noonan said following his meeting with EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, he now expects the decision to come in September or October, according to a spokesman for Ireland's embassy to the EU. Mr. Noonan met with Ms. Vestager in Brussels on Tuesday.

Mr. Noonan said he still has no indication of what the decision would be, the spokesman said. The EU could order Ireland to retrieve substantial sums from Apple in unpaid taxes.

The European Commission, the bloc's antitrust agency, opened a formal probe into Apple's tax arrangements more than two years ago, accusing Ireland that the deals it struck with the U.S. tech company in 1991 and 2007 amounted to state aid.

An Apple spokeswoman pointed to previous statements by a company executive saying it pays all the taxes it owes wherever the firm operates.

Mr. Noonan previously had said a decision in the Apple case may come in July, but, after the U.K.'s referendum to leave the EU, he suggested the antitrust regulator may postpone its decision given the economic turmoil caused by the Brexit vote.

Ireland previously has said it was confident its tax arrangements with Apple didn't breach EU rules, and it would defend "all aspects" of the case vigorously, in court if necessary.

The EU also is investigating Amazon.com Inc.'s tax arrangements with Luxembourg.

At issue are the tax rulings, or so-called comfort letters, governments hand to multinationals to give clarity on how a specific tax will be calculated. These would be illegal if they gave selective advantages to some companies.

Separately, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew also met with Ms. Vestager while he was in Brussels on Wednesday.

Mr. Lew has been outspoken about his views on the EU's probes into tax arrangements for multinationals, criticizing Ms. Vestager of discriminating against U.S. companies -- a charge she has denied. The U.S. argues the commission retroactively applies a sweeping new state aid theory that disproportionately impacts American companies.

Write to Natalia Drozdiak at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 13, 2016 14:32 ET (18:32 GMT)

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