Apple pays $1.77bn of total $15bn tax fine to Ireland
San Francisco, May 20: Apple has paid $1.77 billion of total $15 billion to the Irish government as it begins to collect tax and interest into an escrow account set up to hold the sum.
"This is the first of a series of payments with the expectation that the remaining tranches will flow into the fund during the second and third quarter of 2018 as previously outlined," the Irirsh Times quoted Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe as saying after the first transfer.
In August 2016, the European Commission said that Apple benefited from illegal tax benefits in Ireland from 2003 to 2014.
Meanwhile, Apple and Ireland are still pursuing appeals against a 2016 European Commission's decision saying the iPhone maker's tax treatment was in line with Irish and European Union law.
In 2016, the EU ordered the iPhone maker to pay almost $15 billion in back taxes to Ireland as it believed Ireland had not been collecting enough taxes and instead had been giving companies like Apple too big of a break on its already low 12.5 per cent tax rate.
Apple has reportedly moved its cash to the small island of Jersey off the south coast of England to avoid further Irish taxation, CNET said in a report.
The Irish government expects that all of the money would be transferred by the end of September.
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AIMIM wins Malegaon Central seat by 162 votes
Malegaon (Maharashtra), Nov 23: In a closely contested election, Mohammad Ismail Abdul Khalique of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has retained the Malegaon Central assembly seat, winning by a razor-thin margin of 162 votes.
This victory in the north Maharashtra constituency marks a significant turnaround for Khalique, who previously enjoyed a commanding lead in the 2019 elections, winning by over one lakh votes.
Khalique, an Islamic scholar, received a total of 1,09,653 votes this time, narrowly defeating his nearest rival, Asif Shaikh Rasheed of the Indian Secular Largest Assembly of Maharashtra party, who got 1,09,491 votes.
There were a total of 13 candidates contesting in this Muslim dominated constituency. Barring Khalique and Rasheed, two other candidates -- Shaan-e-Hind Nihal Ahmed of Samajwadi Party and Ejaz Baig Aziz Baig managed below 10,000 votes. Other remaining candidates were below 1,000 votes.
This election marks Khalique's third term as an MLA. He initially represented the Malegaon Central seat in 2009 as a member of the Jan Surajya Shakti party.
However, Khalique faced a setback in the 2014 elections when he contested under the banner of the Nationalist Congress Party and lost.
His return to the assembly in 2019 under the AIMIM banner solidified his political presence, and despite the significantly reduced margin this year, he has once again emerged victorious.
The results highlight the competitive nature of the Malegaon Central constituency and underscore Khalique's resilience in maintaining his position amidst changing political dynamics.
