Ireland is closer to collecting €15B (about $15 billion) in Apple taxes following European Commission criticism that the country was dragging its feet.
The money traces back to an August European Commission (EU) ruling that Ireland gave Apple unfair tax incentives. Last year, the EU told Apple to repay the back taxes to the country, which had given Apple unfair tax breaks. The tech giant is supposed to put the money into an escrow account while appealing the decision. If Apple wins, it gets the money back.
However, according to Reuters, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told Parliament: “We’ve indicated to them that we want the escrow account established and we want funds to be paid into the escrow account without further delay. We do not want to be in the situation where the Irish government has to take Apple to court because the European Commission is taking the Irish government to court. I think that message is understood and I’d anticipate progress in the coming weeks.”
