Apple is getting Europe’s largest ever tax penalty for supposedly “illegal” tax deals and tax evasion in Ireland over the past year, that is, if paying taxes in the nation where Apple is headquartered is illegal.
The European Union will release documentation of Apple’s dealings with Ireland that would show “Ireland provided the iPhone maker with illegal aid through a sweetheart deal in return for creating jobs in the nation,” reports Bloomberg.
The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, is the branch expected to release the damning evidence.
The commission found that Apple was given an unfair advantage in Ireland in 2014, but the new documentation might make earlier claims of unfair competition actionable under international trade dispute mechanisms.
The new document, consisting of 130 pages of a three-year investigation into Apple’s dealings in Ireland, looks specifically into “claims that two advance tax opinions issued by Dublin violated EU law by granting Apple an advantage not available to other companies,” reports FT.
Both Apple and Ireland have publicly claimed innocence. The case revolves around the fact that governments should not give preferential treatment to some companies and not others.
If Apple is charged, it could face up to $19 billion in back taxes. The largest penalty so far in the EU’s history was for EDF, the French energy group, which was penalized $1.5 billion.
The ruling is reportedly set to call on Dublin to do a full tax reassessment of Apple.
Apple has some 5,500 employees in its Irish plant, and says its taxes reflect the cost of production, distribution, and sales, according to Business Insider.
Ireland’s finance ministry says “the government‘s case is very robust,” according to the FT. It added that “the minister (of finance) has indicated previously that any adverse ruling should be appealed in the European courts and will recommend that course to cabinet.”
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