Dublin: The European Union's imposition of a 13 billion euro ($14.5 billion) back tax bill on Apple is "total political crap", Chief Executive Tim Cook said in a newspaper interview today, and anti-US bias may have played a role.
Cook said he would fight closely with Ireland to overturn the ruling, which he said had "no basis in law or in fact".
"No one did anything wrong here and we need to stand together. Ireland is being picked on and this is unacceptable," Cook was quoted as saying by the Irish Independent.
Cook told the newspaper that bias against multinationals from the United States may have been a factor in the decision to impose the bill.
"I think that Apple was targeted here," he said. "And I think that (anti-US sentiment) is one reason why we could have been targeted."
"I think it's a desire to reallocate taxes that should be paid in the US to the EU," he added.
Cook rejected accusation by EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager that Apple paid just 0.005 percent tax in Ireland in 2014.
"They just picked a number from I don't know where," he said, adding that Apple pays 26 percent per year on its global profits.
Cook said Apple was committed to expanding its operations in Ireland despite the ruling.
"I feel like Ireland stuck with Apple when it wasn't easy to stick with Apple and now we're sticking with Ireland," he said.
In a separate interview on Thursday with Irish state broadcaster RTE, Cook said the EU decision was "maddening" and that he was very confident his appeal would succeed.
Cook said he would fight closely with Ireland to overturn the ruling, which he said had "no basis in law or in fact".
"No one did anything wrong here and we need to stand together. Ireland is being picked on and this is unacceptable," Cook was quoted as saying by the Irish Independent.
"I think that Apple was targeted here," he said. "And I think that (anti-US sentiment) is one reason why we could have been targeted."
Advertisement
Cook rejected accusation by EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager that Apple paid just 0.005 percent tax in Ireland in 2014.
Advertisement
Cook said Apple was committed to expanding its operations in Ireland despite the ruling.
Advertisement
In a separate interview on Thursday with Irish state broadcaster RTE, Cook said the EU decision was "maddening" and that he was very confident his appeal would succeed.
Advertisement
© Thomson Reuters 2016
COMMENTS
Advertisement
"Shocked": Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai Condemn Attack On Donald Trump At US Rally Apple Becomes 1st Company Charged With Violating EU's Digital Markets Act Rules ''Mission Completed'': Indian-Origin Teen Meets Apple CEO Tim Cook, Shares Pic Bangladesh Imposes Curfew, Deploys Military As 105 Die In Protests "Jindal Group Executive Showed Porn, Groped Me On Flight": Woman To NDTV Over 300 Indian Students Return Home As 105 Bangladeshis Killed In Protests Joe Biden Is The Best Person To Take On Trump, Says His Campaign Wife Among Two Jailed For Life For Man's Murder In Gurugram: Cops 1,100 Flights Cancelled In US As Microsoft Outage Disrupts Operations Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.