Tim Cook says EU ruling is ‘maddening’, and dismisses it as ‘political crap’

Apple boss Tim Cook has branded his company’s €13bn bill for unpaid taxes in Europe as “political crap”, “maddening”, and untrue.

The chief executive dismissed an audit by a Brussels watchdog which found it only paid 0.005% tax in 2014, and claimed the global tech brand paid a worldwide rate of 26.1% on its earnings that year.

“It’s maddening. It’s maddening and disappointing,” the Apple chief said. “It’s clear that this comes from a political place. It has no basis in fact or in law.”