Technology giant Apple has claimed it should pay nothing in relation to its Irish tax arrangements, which are the subject of ongoing investigations by the European Commission's competition arm.

Luca Maestri, Apple's chief financial officer, told the Financial Times: "This is a case between the European Commission and Ireland and frankly there is no way to estimate the impact right now, we need to see what the final decision is going to be."

He added: “My estimate is zero. I mean, if there is a fair outcome of the investigation, it should be zero.”

Some estimates suggest Apple could be liable for several billion in back taxes if the European Commission finds against it.

The company itself has indicated that it could be required to repay a “material” amount in taxes in the event of a negative ruling. A decision on the matter is expected at some point after the forthcoming general election.

Mr Maestri's comments came as Google also said it was being unfairly targeted in relation to its tax affairs.

Google yesterday defended its £130 million settlement with British tax authorities for the first time in a letter to the Financial Times, arguing that it was complying with British law.

A major part of the investigation that led to that settlement last week concerned whether the company’s Irish business had a “permanent establishment”, with UK tax authorities concluding it did not have a taxable presence in the country.

Tough questions

The interventions from the tech companies came as David Cameron, UK prime minister, tackled tough questions about the Google tax deal in parliament. Labour leader

Jeremy Corbyn

asked: “Why is there one rule for big multinational companies and another for ordinary, small businesses and self-employed workers?”

Peter Barron, Google’s European public affairs chief, wrote: “Governments make tax law, the tax authorities independently enforce the law, and Google complies with the law.”– Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016