by James Tweedie
APPLE boss Tim Cook attacked this week’s European Commission ruling against its sweetheart tax deal with Ireland yesterday, calling it “political crap.”
The commission ruled that Ireland had breached state aid rules by letting the tech giant pay as little as 0.005 per cent — €50 (£42) on every million in profits — over more than a decade.
It ordered Apple to pay €13 billion (£11bn) in arrears to the Irish exchequer, although Dublin said it didn’t want the money.
“I think the right thing here is to stand up and fight against this overreach,” Mr Cook told RTE TV from his base in Cupertino, California.
Taking a Eurosceptic tone, he added: “Clearly the sovereignty of the country is at stake and the rule of law and sovereignty of law are at stake.”
Apple said it had hired top London law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to appeal against the ruling.
But Rosa Pavanelli, general secretary of union federation Public Service International, said the EU Commission’s decision acknowledged that austerity was a political choice, not an economic one.
“This ruling shows that governments do have access to the funds to provide public services such as health, education and water if they have the political will,” she said.
“This is the worst form of corruption and should be considered an international crime.
“My first thought is for the Irish workers and families who have suffered for the austerity measures imposed by the Irish government to recover from the financial crisis.”
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