The Cupertino based tech-giant, Apple has been asked to pay €13 Billion in taxes to the Irish authorities after the European Commission (EU’s anti-trust regulators) ruled that it had received illegal state aid.
The massive sum, some 40 times bigger than the previous known one demanded by the European Commission from a company in such a case, could be reduced, the EU executive said in a statement, if other countries sought more tax themselves from Apple.
Apple which has already paid a tax rate on European profits of between 0.005 and 1 percent, has also said it will appeal the decision, the Commission said.
In response to the charges issued, Apple has officially confirmed that they will appeal.
The company further highlighted the impact of their supposed break of tax laws which could hit employment opportunities in Europe.
The Cupertino-based company also emphasised on the possible impact that this case could have with respect to creating jobs in Europe.
However, Ireland has said that it disagrees profoundly with the European Commission’s ruling against its tax dealings with Apple, Finance Minister Michael Noonan said on Tuesday ahead of seeking cabinet approval to appeal.
Ireland’s finance ministry said its position remained that the full amount of tax was paid and no state aid was provided. Ireland did not give favourable tax treatment to Apple and does not do deals with taxpayers, it added.
For Apple, whose earnings of $18 billion last year were the biggest ever reported by a corporation, finding several billion dollars should not be an insurmountable problem. The 13 billion euros represents about 6 percent of the firm’s cash pile.
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has written a letter that is publicly available on Apple’s website. He has mostly highlighted Apple’s effort in the region over the years, and talked up Steve Jobs setting up its first operation centre for Europe way back in 1980s.
Cook pointed out that Apple’s major set of operations take place out of the US, which is why they’re technically not liable to pay taxes in Europe.
(With inputs from Reuters)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)