Apple $1.8 Billion Tax Arrears Payment Eases Pressure on Ireland

European authorities indicated they are open to dropping a case against Ireland for failing to collecting Apple Inc.’s tax arrears quickly enough, as the company paid over a first trance of cash.

In an order that reverberated across the Atlantic, the European Commission in 2016 slapped Apple with a record bill, saying Ireland granted unfair deals that reduced the company’s effective corporate tax rate. After the government missed deadlines to collect the cash, the Commission in October referred Ireland to the European Court of Justice. The Iphone maker has paid about 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion), the Finance Ministry said in Dublin on Friday.