Apple agrees to pay Ireland €13bn in back taxes after EU challenge

Apple has agreed to pay Ireland up to €13bn (£11.5bn) in back taxes after the European Commission said it received unfair tax incentives.

The European Commission ruled in 2016 that the tax arrangement was illegal under EU state aid rules, but Apple and Ireland have both appealed the order.

In October, Europe’s competition chief Margrethe Vestager said the European Commission would take Ireland to court over its failure to collect taxes.

With Apple’s appeal still in process, the tax payments will be made into an escrow account. The payments are expected to be made in the first quarter of 2018, according to Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe.

“We have now reached agreement with Apple in relation to the principles and operation of the escrow fund,” Donohoe told reporters yesterday before a meeting with Vestager.

“We expect the money will begin to be transmitted into the account from Apple across the first quarter of next year.”