On Tuesday, the Irish government outlined its plans to use the €13 billion ($14.4 billion) in taxes collected from the American tech giant Apple. This significant sum has been years in the making for the country.
In a pre-election budget speech, Irish Finance Minister Jack Chambers stated that the recent decision by the EU's highest court offered Ireland a "transformative" one-time revenue boost. Chambers emphasized that Ireland’s future economic performance would hinge on prioritizing and delivering infrastructure projects in the next decade. He stressed that the immediate priority is not to use this capital injection for routine expenses or to narrow the tax base.
The government intends to address known challenges in housing, energy, water, and transportation infrastructure with this revenue.
Three weeks prior, the European Court ruled against Apple regarding its tax arrangements in Ireland, stating that the company must pay €13 billion in back taxes. This landmark decision, hailed by tax fairness advocates and outgoing EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager, was labeled a "big win for European citizens." Apple expressed disappointment with the ruling, while the Irish government maintained its stance of not giving tax favors to any company or taxpayer.
The Irish Finance Ministry projects the country’s tax revenue for this year to reach €105.7 billion, up €13.6 billion from previous estimates, driven largely by corporate tax income and the European Court decision.
