The European Commission plans to file charges against Apple in the abuse of the tax laws of individual countries, such as Ireland. On Monday the Financial Times reported, citing sources close to the study of the American corporation tax schemes. Officially, the European Commission has not yet confirmed this information.
Officially, the details of the investigation may be announced this week. For the use of tax schemes and tax evasion Apple could potentially face a fine of billions of euros. The article also says that the iPhone maker suspected of receiving illegal aid from the official Dublin.
The Irish Government, in turn, said that does not accept violations of the law and intends to defend its position in the European court. Apple has not commented on a possible investigation.
Apple suspected of transactions in Ireland, which have been associated with the country's authorities. After the conclusion of favorable agreements with Irish officials, the company received state support. In parallel, the European Commission is investigating the corporate tax agreements in the Netherlands and Luxembourg, as well as in Ireland, which are associated with "tax planning". Earlier, a similar claim put forward by Brussels against Google and Starbucks.
At present, the Netherlands, Ireland and Lyuksemberg have special structured corporate taxes, which is not present in other EU countries. In most European countries, the actual corporate tax rate equal to the nominal, but in these countries it is often much lower.
In May, the Senate of the United States has accused Apple of failing to pay taxes . According to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate of the United States Congress, Cupertino-based company has developed a scheme by which for several years did not pay billions of dollars in taxes.