Apple could potentially sign a lease for real estate on Dublin's O'Connell Street, establishing its first-ever outlet in the country of Ireland, a report indicated on Friday.
There's no way of telling when the European Commission will conclude its investigation into Apple's Irish tax deals, simply because the huge amount of data involved, the Commission's competition head said on Monday.
Ireland has yet to supply all the data asked for by the European Commission in its investigation of the country's tax deals with Apple, a spokesman for the organization said on Wednesday.
Apple is "committed to Ireland," whatever might happen in an European Commission investigation into Irish tax deals, the company's VP of European operations said to a European Parliament panel on Tuesday.
Apple, Google, IKEA, and McDonald's will together face a European Parliament hearing on Wednesday, called amid European Commission investigations into whether such multinationals were given preferential tax deals by some nations.
The European Commission is unlikely to rule on the legality of Apple's tax arrangement with the Irish government any time in the near future, the EU's lead antitrust watchdog said on Monday.
A planning organization backed by the Irish government — An Bord Pleanála — is reportedly asking Apple to provide more information about a number of issues before it approves the construction of a data center near the small town of Athenry.
Hackers are trying to bribe workers at Apple's Irish offices with thousands of euros, hoping to gain access to sensitive company login information, according to several people within the company.
On Wednesday Apple CFO Luca Maestri attacked an ongoing European Commission investigation into the company's tax deals with Ireland, claiming that a "fair" decision would find the iPhone maker owing nothing.
Developments in the "real" world grabbed many headlines this week, including a bomb threat in Ireland, a new iOS development center in Italy and worries that Apple's battery suppliers are using child labor. The company meanwhile released a bevy of software updates for OS X and iOS.
Earlier on Thursday Apple CEO Tim Cook attended a private meeting in Brussels with Margrethe Vestager, the head of the European Commission's antitrust efforts, presumably in an attempt to diminish the chances of owing billions in back taxes because of the company's Irish tax deals.
Ireland's left-leaning Sinn Fein party could hold Apple accountable for taxes owed following a still-ongoing European Commission investigation, according to a party finance spokesman.
A fake bomb threat was issued for Apple's operations in Ireland on Monday, causing officials to evacuate 4,800 employees before giving the all-clear.
Apple could owe in excess of $8 billion in back taxes after the conclusion of a European Commission investigation into its Irish tax dodges, a new estimate suggests.
A European Union investigation into whether Apple's bespoke tax arrangement with the Irish government amounts to illegal state aid has been delayed again, as officials in Brussels continue to gather more information.
In a visit to Dublin on Wednesday, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook revealed that his company will hire 1,000 new employees at its international operations in Cork, Ireland, bringing the total number of workers there to 6,000, some of which are locally assembling Apple hardware.
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Roger Fingas
AppleInsider Staff
Neil Hughes
