Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan has today appeared before the Finance Committee on EU State Aid Investigations into the Apple Tax Ruling.
The Finance Minister has told the Committee that he has requested an extension to the deadline for recovering the €13 billion following the state aid ruling on Apple. That deadline passed at the end of January.
During the hearing, Noonan defended the Government's decision to appeal the Apple ruling, insisting there was no breach of state aid rules. He argued that the initial four month deadline imposed did not recognise the magnitude of the recovery of the case. He stressed that the European Commission's ruling was very damaging for Ireland's reputation.
"I don't like what the Commission did. I think you can gather that," Mr Noonan said.
"This affects how Ireland could be treated by other jurisdictions, damages Ireland's credibility in the international tax debate and inhibits Ireland in pressing arguments that serve our national interest," he added.
Source: www.businessworld.ie
