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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100 stray dogs ''poisoned'' to death near Hyderabad, case booked
Hyderabad (PTI): In yet another incident of stray dog killings, nearly 100 canines were allegedly "poisoned to death" in Yacharam village near here following which a case was registered against a sarpanch and two others for their alleged involvement in the act, police said on Wednesday.
The fresh incident follows killing of nearly 500 stray dogs in different districts of Telangana since January 6.
An animal welfare activist, associated with Stray Animal Foundation of India, in a complaint filed with Yacharam Police Station alleged that the dogs were injected with some poisonous substances on January 19.
A case was registered under relevant sections of BNS and Prevention of Cruelty of Animals Act against the sarpanch, secretary and ward member of Yacharam gram panchayat on Tuesday, a police official said.
As per the complainant, 100 dogs were killed, but based on preliminary investigation and after verifying with villagers around 50 dogs were found to be killed, though further probe is on in this regard, the official said.
An investigation is also underway to find out the carcasses of the dogs, he said.
Earlier, police in Hanamkonda district had booked nine persons, including two women sarpanches and their husbands, in connection with the alleged killing of around 300 stray dogs in Shayampet and Arepally villages.
In another incident, around 200 stray dogs were allegedly killed in Kamareddy district, and a case was booked against six persons, including five village sarpanches, for their alleged involvement in the incident.
It is suspected that some elected representatives, including sarpanches, allegedly carried out the killings to "fulfill promises made to villagers" ahead of gram panchayat elections held in December last year, to tackle the stray dog menace.
