Apple states EU’s $14 billion tax need ‘defies truth’

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Apple handled the European Union in court on Tuesday.


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Days prior to the iPhone 11 strikes shops, Apple is combating the European Union’s 13 billion euro ($14.4 billion) tax expense in court. The business states the tax expense “defies reality and common sense,” Reuters reported Tuesday. A panel of 5 judges is hearing arguments in Luxembourg’s General Court over 2 days.

The European Commission desires Apple to repay taxes to Ireland, where the business’s European head office lie. The nation’s tax system draws in numerous United States tech business, and Ireland is guaranteeing Apple in court.

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In its appeal, Apple accused the European Commission of trying to “retrofit changes to national law” and creating legal uncertainty for companies. Apple lawyer Daniel Beard said the Commission’s order suggests that all of Apple’s sales outside the US must be linked to its Irish branches, even though its products are developed in the US. 

However, 9to5Mac noted that Apple choose to funnel all the revenue it earned from EU countries to two companies based in Ireland.

Richard Lyal, the Commission’s lawyer, said Ireland didn’t examine the functions of the company’s Irish units, the risks it assumed nor the assets used by its subsidiaries, according to Reuters.

The court’s ruling will likely come in the next few months, but the losing party is expected to appeal and a final judgment may not come for years.

The European Commission declined comment and Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment.

First published Sept. 17, 6:32 a.m. PT.
Updated Sept. 18, 1:27 a.m. PT: Notes that the European Commission declined comment.