Apple to start paying about $14.5 billion in taxes to Ireland in March

Ireland’s Public Accounts Committee will begin collecting €13 billion (about $14.5 billion) from Apple in March, with payments expected to continue through September, according to RTÉ.

In a letter to the Committee, Department of Finance Secretary General Derek Moran said the funds will be held in an escrow account and that it will be in place by the end of March. 

“Given the scale and the bespoke nature of the establishment of the recovery process at this stage it is not possible to provide a definite date for the completion of the collection of the alleged aid,” he said. “However, identification of the escrow agent/custodian by the end of March 2018 will then allow for a payment into the escrow fund account, with payments continuing through the course of April, May and June and up to the end of September 2018.”

The European Commission, Europe’s anti-trust and consumer investigation agency, claimed that Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands have attracted investment and jobs by helping big companies avoid tax in other countries, including EU members. The commission suspects Ireland was too lenient in rulings it gave to Apple and which helped the company shield tens of billions of dollars in profit from taxation. 

Tim Cook has branded the European Commission ruling “total political crap.” Apple’s CEO also suggested the “retroactive” tax bill was an attempt by the EU to grab taxes owed to the U.S. treasury and harmonize tax rates across the 28-nation bloc.