No EC Verdict On Apple Ruling Before Christmas

Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said that he no longer expects that the European Commission will release its decision on the legality of a tax ruling provided to Apple before Christmas.

Noonan confirmed that the Commission had requested additional information on the ruling. He said it will take the Government “two weeks or so to put it together.” Although it had “looked as if we were heading for a decision before Christmas,” by the time the Commission has taken the information into account, it will be “very close to Christmas,” he explained.

“I don’t foresee a decision before Christmas now,” Noonan added.

Last month, the Commission concluded its investigations into tax rulings provided by Luxembourg and the Netherlands to Fiat Finance and Starbucks, respectively. It found that the rulings confer selective tax advantages on the two companies, in breach of European Union law, and ordered to the two countries to recover the “unpaid tax.”