Apple should not be punished for its tax arrangements in Ireland, according to businessman Denis O’Brien.
The European Commission ruled last month that Apple should pay as much as €13 billion in back taxes to Ireland, claiming the State breached EU state-aid rules to attract investment from the world’s wealthiest company.
Apple and the Government plan to appeal the ruling, saying they did nothing wrong.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Mr O’Brien said “Apple played by the rules.
“Brussels is out of control in terms of the federalism agenda.”
The final amount payable could be as much as €17 billion, the largest tax penalty in a three-year EU campaign against corporate tax avoidance.
Ireland allowed Apple to pay an effective corporate tax rate of 1% on its European profits in 2003, down to 0.005% in 2014, according to EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager – figures disputed by the company.
The tax probe came after the US Senate “tipped us off” about the iPhone maker’s practices, Ms Vestager said earlier this month.
Mr O’Brien said: “Vestager just picked on them because they are one of the biggest brands and most valuable companies in the world and said ‘we’re going to try something here.
“I don’t believe it’s going to succeed.”
According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, Mr O’Brien is worth €3.4 billion.
