The European Commission is suing Ireland in the Court of Justice of the European Union for not having collected 13 billion euros in taxes from Apple, in direct conversion the amount is equivalent to more than R$ 48 billion.
The financial disagreement has been going on for more than a year between the three parties. The commission believes that Ireland provided illegal benefits to Apple so that the company could establish itself in the country, as a result, it ordered that, in August 2016, the accounts be adjusted.
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Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, responsible for supervising matters related to competition policies in the European Union, said in a note released this Wednesday (4), that the appeal is not an excuse for the collection not to be made, as the legislation of the block determines that the money needs to be redeemed even if it is held in a separate account.
"Of course, we understand that recovery in certain cases can be [something] more complex than in others, and we are always ready to help," Vestager said. "But member states must make enough progress to restore competition. That's why today we decided to refer Ireland to the EU Court."
To top it off, the Irish government has also commented on the case. The Finance Department says that while "Ireland has never accepted the commission's analysis" of Apple's taxes, the country has always been committed to European law and has been working to raise the 13 billion euros.
"That is why [the government] is extremely disappointed that the commission has taken this action at this time against Ireland," the statement reads. "Ireland has made significant progress in this complicated case and is close to establishing a trust fund in accordance with all Irish and European Union constitutional laws."
