OUCH Apple to Get Hit with Multi-Billion Dollar Tax Bill

Apple will on Tuesday be hit with Europe’s largest tax penalty after Brussels ruled that the company received illegal state aid from Ireland, reports the Financial Times.

FT continues:

The company will have to pay billions of euro in back taxes to Dublin as the European Commission moves to redraw the boundaries on aggressive tax avoidance by the world’s biggest corporations.

A 130-page judgment by the commission follows a three-year investigation into claims that two advance tax opinions issued by Dublin violated EU law by granting Apple an advantage not available to other companies.

Competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager circulated the final ruling to her counterparts in the EU’s executive branch only on Monday morning, deploying a fast-track procedure in a bid to minimise leaks. The usual notice period is two weeks.

The decision is set to be the subject of appeals in the European courts by Apple and Ireland, both of which have denied any wrongdoing.

 -RW