Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook slammed the European Union’s attempt to grab $14.5 billion in back taxes, saying the move has “serious, wide-reaching implications.”
In a letter on Apple’s website Tuesday, Cook said the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech titan never asked for or received “special deals” on taxes from Ireland and that the company will appeal the EU’s decision.
Cook said the European Commission is trying to impose its own tax laws and force Ireland to do its bidding.
“We now find ourselves in the unusual position of being ordered to retroactively pay additional taxes to a government that says we don’t owe them any more than we’ve already paid,” he wrote.
Ireland is also up in arms over the EU’s decision. Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan vowed to appeal the decision in order “to defend the integrity of our tax system.”
Cook said the company has followed the law since late co-founder Steve Jobs opened a factory in Cork, Ireland, nearly 36 years ago with 60 employees.
‘As our business has grown over the years, we have become the largest taxpayer in Ireland, the largest taxpayer in the United States, and the largest taxpayer in the world.’
- Apple CEO Tim Cook
“The European Commission has launched an effort to rewrite Apple’s history in Europe, ignore Ireland’s tax laws and upend the international tax system in the process,” Cook wrote.
He warned that the ruling could lead to job losses in Europe. Apple’s workforce has grown to nearly 6,000 employees across Ireland.
“As our business has grown over the years, we have become the largest taxpayer in Ireland, the largest taxpayer in the United States, and the largest taxpayer in the world,” he wrote.
Cook also reiterated calls for corporate tax reform “with the objectives of simplicity and clarity.”
The European Commission’s investigation found that Ireland reached an illegal arrangement with Apple that allowed the company to pay almost zero tax on its European profits for more than 10 years.
The tax breaks cut the company’s effective corporate tax rate on its European profits from 1 percent in 2003 to just 0.0005 percent in 2014, according to the EU report.