The Irish government has an "indication" the European Commission will decide whether its tax arrangements with Apple violated state aid rules by the end of the year, it was revealed on Monday.
Regardless of which way they go, the findings won't hurt Ireland, Finance Minister Michael Noonan told news agencies such as Bloomberg. The minister claimed that any findings against the country would be "based on very thin legal grounds" and challenged in the European Court of Justice.
Last year, however, the Commission issued a preliminary finding that Apple was receiving unfair tax breaks in exchange for putting jobs in the country. In 2013 Apple admitted that it had been paying an effective tax rate of less than 2 percent for the previous decade -- European Union regulations don't allow governments to favor individual corporations with special subsidies.
A number of businesses, including Apple, have exploited loopholes in Irish tax law to pay minimal taxes on billions in revenue funneled there from much larger markets around the world. Apple has consistently maintained that it's simply following the law, but that legality is currently in a shakier position, and the Irish government is working to close at least some of those loopholes.
In terms of jobs, Apple runs a variety of operations out of the Irish city of Cork, including administration, distribution, and manufacturing. In May, news emerged that Apple is considering a major expansion of local manufacturing.
If Apple is required to pay a standard tax rate of 12.5 percent, it could potentially reduce Apple's annual earnings by just under 10 percent unless the company finds another tax haven to funnel revenue through.