Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 February 2025
161. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Finance the amount of the €13 billion in back-taxes payable by a corporation (details supplied) the State has received to date; if there is a schedule for further incremental payments going forward; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5235/25]
View answerIn order to comply with the 2016 State aid decision of the Commission, €14.285 billion was recovered over the course of 2018 and placed into the Escrow Fund. This included the State aid required to be recovered and EU interest. The recovery amount was calculated by Revenue on the basis of the Decision.
In general, the Escrow Fund could not be accessed or distributed until a final ruling was made by the European Courts. However, the Decision provided that the profits subjected to tax in Ireland for the period covered by the Decision could be reduced if Apple was required to pay taxes in another jurisdiction in respect of the same profits for this period. The Escrow Deed governing the Escrow Fund provided for this possibility, referred to as Third Country Adjustments. Third Country Adjustments totalling €455 million were paid out of the Escrow Fund in 2019 and 2021.
The CJEU judgment of 10 September 2024 provided the final judgment necessary for the release of the Escrow Fund. The process of transferring the Escrow Fund to Ireland, as provided for in the Escrow Deed began in October 2024 and was complete by end January 2025. The value of the total amount transferred during the process on 24 January (the day of the final transfer from the Escrow Account) was circa €14.237 billion, with a final value only available once all assets have been realised.
