Apple's chief executive Tim Cook described an EU ruling that it must pay a huge tax bill to Ireland as "total political crap," but France joined Germany on Thursday in backing Brussels as transatlantic tensions grow. Apple has said it will appeal the ruling which Cook attacked in an interview with the Irish Independent. She said on Thursday that the calculations were based on data provided by Apple itself and evidence presented during hearings on Apple tax issues in the United States. Asked if she accepted Cook's comments on the ruling, she told a news conference: "No, I will not. In Paris, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin backed Vestager's view that Apple's Irish tax arrangements amounted to abnormal state aid.

Source: CBC News September 01, 2016 12:45 UTC