Apple plans to challenge the European Commission’s order to pay 13 billion euros (about $14.4 billion) in Irish back taxes in a case in the European Union’s crackdown on tax avoidance by multinational companies, reports Reuters.
The article says the tech giant is expected to send a six-man delegation headed by Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri to the two-day court hearing at the Luxembourg-based General Court, the EU’s second highest court. In 2016, the European Commission told Apple to repay about €13B in back taxes to the country, claiming it had received Apple unfair tax breaks. Apple has to put the money into an escrow account while appealing the decision (which could take years). If Apple wins, it gets the money back.
Tim Cook has branded the European Commission ruling “total political crap.” Apple’s CEO also suggested the “retroactive” tax bill was an attempt by the European Union to grab taxes owed to the U.S. treasury and harmonize tax rates across the 28-nation bloc.
