Ireland agrees to appeal against €13bn Apple tax repayment demand from EU
Ireland's coalition government has agreed to appeal against a multi-billion-euro back tax demand that the European Commission slapped on iPhone maker Apple earlier this week, after independent members of the Cabinet gave their backing.
"A motion will come before the Dail (the Irish parliament) on Wednesday seeking an endorsement of that decision," a government spokesman said.
On Tuesday, the Commission said US tech giant Apple should be forced to repay €13bn (£11.1bn) back to Ireland, after the EU competition watchdog ruled that the company had broken antitrust laws by agreeing to a so-called sweetheart tax deal in the country.
Irish finance minister Michael Noonan said he disagreed "profoundly" with the Commission's decision, and vowed to persuade the Cabinet to back an appeal before the European courts.
Meanwhile, Apple also said it would appeal the decision, as it "will have a profound and harmful effect on investment and job creation in Europe".
Apple boss Tim Cook later gave a slightly more colourful response to the decision, describing it as "total political crap".
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