That’s a lot of iPhones…
The EU is expected to rule in the coming days that Apple’s tax arrangements with Ireland were illegal under state aid rules, and it could lead to Apple owing Ireland a massive tax bill.
According to the Irish Times, the tax bill is expected to amount to hundreds of millions of euro, but it will most likely be used to service Ireland’s considerable debt.
If the ruling is as expected from the European Commission, the Revenue Commissioners would be required to establish how much Apple would owe and then would be required to seek payment of this sum.
The ruling from the EU could come as early as Tuesday but it’s unlikely that payment will be immediate with appeals likely to halt things proceedings.
Apple and the Irish Government are expected to appeal the decision, with Ministers insisting that Ireland did not offer Apple a special deal.
It’s claimed that Apple’s tax arrangements with Ireland were illegally designed to give the company a financial boost in exchange for creating jobs in Ireland.
While some have claimed that in a worst-case scenario the sum of money owed could be as high as €19 billion, this seems highly unlikely with the figure expected to be far lower, somewhere around the €100 million mark.
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