Irish cabinet agrees to appeal EU Apple tax ruling

The executive branch of the Irish government has agreed to appeal the European Commission ruling in which US technology company Apple was ordered to pay the state €13bn in backtaxes.

The decision was made on Friday after doubts emerged over whether the independent ministers in the cabinet would back the appeal favoured by the main party in government, Fine Gael.

Apple's tax practices in Ireland were ruled illegal by the Commission earlier this week in a landmark case. CEO Tim Cook heavily criticised the decision, referring to it as "political crap", and he is also set to back an appeal.

The Dail, Ireland's parliamentary chamber, passed a motion this week to launch an independent review into the country's corporate tax system, and will debate the Apple appeal on Wednesday.

The Independent Alliance, the group of independent ministers who make up the cabinet and ultimately held sway over the decision to appeal, said it had not been easy.

"We felt there was a state of urgency because there was a state of urgency out there on the markets and among some multi-nationals," said Shane Ross. "We were persuaded that it was necessary to clear up that argument as soon as possible."

Although the minority government currently relies on the support of main opposition party Fianna Fail, the party has said that it also favours an appeal process, in order to provide a transparent process to review the decision.

The government has been heavily criticised from various parts of the electorate in Ireland, pointing out that the tax sum Ireland would receive would be more than the country spends on healthcare in a one-year period.

However, ministers have defended their actions by stating that multinational corporations provide vast numbers of jobs to the country and pay the appropriate taxes, including Apple.