Apple's Irish Tax Affairs 'Face Europe Probe'

Apple's tax arrangements in Ireland are to form part of a formal investigation by the European Commission, it is due to be confirmed.

News of the probe - reported by Irish state broadcaster RTE - follows a move by the EU's competition authorities last year to gather information on corporate tax arrangements from several member states, including Ireland.

It is understood that while Apple's tax affairs were a catalyst for the probe, the net is likely to be cast wider to include a number of companies and other countries - with the focus firmly on national laws and corporate tax rules rather than the firms themselves - to establish whether state aid regulations have been broken.

Apple's annual report showed how its Irish structures helped it achieve an effective tax rate of just 3.7% on its non-US income last year.

A US Senate subcommittee investigation revealed that the iPhone and iPad maker had cut billions from its tax bill by declaring that companies registered in the Irish city of Cork were not tax residents of any country.

Apple in the United States entered into deals with the Irish subsidiaries whereby the Irish units received the rights to certain intellectual property that were subsequently licensed to other group companies, helping ensure almost no tax was reported in countries such as Britain or France.

Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the subcommittee, said the Apple structure represented "the Holy Grail of tax avoidance".

Apple had claimed its Irish rate was obtained "through negotiations" - a claim flatly denied at the time by the Irish government.

Apple has insisted it operates within the law, with chief executive Tim Cook telling the committee during a hearing last year: "We pay all the taxes we owe - every single dollar."

The wider tax avoidance debate, which has included the likes of Starbucks and Google, has focused on amending national laws to  ensure fair payment worldwide.

Ireland has pledged to force 'stateless' groups to declare residency or face full corporation tax rates from next year - a rate which is the lowest in Europe and itself a bone of contention among its European partners.