EU ordered Apple to pay € 13 billion taxes

The antimonopoly regulators of the European Union admitted that Apple used illegal tax benefits, and obliged the company to pay Ireland € 13 billion. The European Commission said this.

“The European Commission concluded that Ireland provided Apple by unjustified tax benefits of up to € 13 billion. This is illegally according to the EU Rules for the provision of state assistance, as Apple allowed to pay much less taxes than other enterprises,” the report said.

Ireland and Apple announced their intention to appeal the decision of European regulators.

Irish Finance Minister Michael Nunan said Ireland “deeply disagree” with the decision of European regulators, Reuters reports. He added that Ireland did not provide a favorable tax regime for Apple and does not conclude transactions with taxpayers.

Apple said that the commission’s decision will have a “strong and harmful impact on investment and the creation of jobs in Europe”.

“The European Commission tried to rewrite the history of Apple in Europe, ignore the tax legislation of Ireland and turn the international tax system,” the company said.

After the decision of the European Commission, the Apple shares fell by 3%.

The European Commission began the investigation against Apple in 2014. Last week, the US Treasury published a document in which he stated that the European Commission does not comply with international norms and greatly affects American companies. The commission stated that it applies to all companies the same.

The commission has been studying the tax policy of the EU member states since 2013. In November 2014, she suspected the Netherlands in the illegal tax benefits of Starbucks. In January 2016, the commission ordered the authorities of Belgium to recover from 35 transnational corporations about € 700 million, who were lost due to the tax benefits provided by it.