The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has slammed the European Commissions latest decision to take Ireland to the European Court of Justice over the recent Apple tax ruling.
Speaking in Dáil about the issue which has seen the Irish Government being summoned to the court to explain its reasons as to why they refused recuperate the €13bn in back tax owed by the technology giant, Mr Varadkar said the latest decision by the EU is “completely unwarranted and unnecessary.”
The Taoiseach also said the Irish Government “profoundly disagrees” with the European Commission’s interpretation of state aid and tax rules.
Mr Varadkar explained: “It is our view that tax is a national competence, it’s a matter for this parliament, not a European matter.”
He added: “The Irish Government are in the process of retrieving the funds owed by Apple.”
“The NTMA is managing this process, they have tendered for fund managers to set up an Escrow account and someone to manage the money until the European Court of Justice decides who it belongs to.”