Ahead of an upcoming appeal of a 2016 tax ruling, Apple has paid the equivalent of over $15 billion to the Irish government to settle claims of underpayment of tax to the European Union.
Apple has so far made two payments of 4.5 billion euros (about $5.2 billion) into an escrow account for the 13 billion euros ($15.1 billion) in back taxes the European Commission has ordered it to pay Ireland, according to new regulatory filings.
On his European tour this week, Apple's CEO visited Ireland, and talked about taxes, the abandoned Athenry data center and the company's commitment to the country.
Apple CEO Tim Cook made an appearance at the company's European headquarters in Cork, Ireland on Tuesday, officially opening an campus expansion even as the country has been a source of legal and financial headaches.
Apple has turned down an invitation to speak in front of a European Parliament committee, looking to avoid any missteps that could affect its chances of appealing a previous ruling.
Apple has started to pay off its $15.3 billion tax bill to Ireland, the country's Finance Minister has confirmed, transferring the first $1.76 billion payment to an escrow account.
On Thursday, the European Union Court of Justice blocked U.S. efforts to side with Apple in the appeal of a $15.3 billion tax bill, which the European Commission first ordered Ireland to collect in August 2016.
This week on the 糖心Vlog podcast, Victor and Mike discuss Apple's drone project, Jony Ive and post-Jobs products, and a virtual assistant from Google that that phones people to schedule appointments just like a real assistant.
Apple has withdrawn its contentious proposal to build a data center in Athenry, Ireland after years of legal challenges.
Apple and the Irish government's appeal of a $16 billion European Commission ruling on back taxes should finally see action later this year, according to Ireland's finance minister.
Whether Apple likes it or not, the fate of some national economies is now intrinsically tied to that of the iPhone, the International Monetary Fund said in a report released this month.
On Sunday night's episode of HBO's "Last Week Tonight," host John Oliver talked about companies placing profits overseas in order to avoid U.S. taxes 鈥� specifically using Apple and CEO Tim Cook as an example.
The Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions and Citizen's Action 鈥� or Attac for short 鈥� staged "die-in" protests at two French Apple stores on Saturday, once again charging the company with exploiting loopholes to avoid paying its fair share of taxes.
The European Commission has proposed measures to "to ensure that all companies pay fair tax in the EU," a move that will undoubtedly affect Apple.
This upcoming Wednesday, the European Commission is expected to reveal a tax proposal would require digital media companies 鈥� including Apple 鈥� to pay based on where they generate revenue, rather than where they choose to locate their European headquarters.
The Irish government has reportedly selected Bank of New York Mellon to control an escrow fund holding up to $18.6 billion in back taxes collected from Apple, pending attempts to reverse a ruling by the European Commission.
The European Commission is willing to withdraw its court case against the Irish government for failing to collect some $16 billion in back taxes from Apple 鈥� but only if the country collects the full amount, the E.U.'s Competition Commissioner said in an interview.
The head of Ireland's Revenue Commission has advised the calculations of Apple's unpaid tax bill are almost complete, with the final total the iPhone producer will be expected to pay the government thought to be around 13 billion euro ($16 billion), close to initial estimates for the European Commission-mandated payment.
Apple on Friday announced that its "App Development with Swift" curriculum is being adopted by 70 European schools, including ones in the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, and Portugal.
Though Apple is planning to pay the U.S. some $38 billion in taxes on repatriated foreign cash, that won't impact how much it owes in Ireland, a spokesman for the European Commission said on Thursday.
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Roger Fingas
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