After having initially been promised for a Christmas deadline, it now appears that both Apple and Ireland will have to wait until February to receive the verdict of European Union regulators on whether or not Ireland has broken international tax rules by letting Apple shelter profits worth tens of billions of dollars there.

“It seems to me that the date for a decision has been put back again; it looks like it will be post-election, rather than pre-election,” Ireland’s finance minister Michael Noonan told a news conference, referring to the parliamentary elections expected to be called for late February.

Ireland is being investigated for allegedly allowing Apple to store its overseas cash pile in the country in exchange for jobs created by the tech company. Recently, Apple announced plans to hire an extra 1,000 employees in Ireland — with the staff joining Apple’s Cork offices by mid-2017, where it currently operates the only Apple-owned manufacturing facility in the world, building Mac computers.

Apple is also helping to fund Irish research toward ocean energy with a €1 million fund, which translates as approximately $1,072,662. This fund is set to commence this year, and will donate €250,000 every year for four years.

Apple is one of several multinational companies having their European tax affairs examined by E.U. antitrust regulators. Tim Cook has always denied any wrongdoing on Apple’s part. During the recent “Inside Apple” episode of 60 Minutes, Cook labelled accusations of tax evasion on Apple’s part as, “total political crap” and said that the company, “pays every tax dollar we owe.”

Recently Apple agreed to pay €318 million ($347 million) to settle a similar tax investigation in Italy.

Source: Reuters