Apple LogoAn Italian judge has accepted a nearly $50,000 settlement agreement with the head of Apple's Irish-based unit as part of a probe into allegations that the company failed to pay taxes in Italy (via Reuters).

A six-month jail sentence for the Apple executive has been converted into the payment of a 45,000 euro ($49,126) fine as part of the settlement agreement, according to Reuters' source.

The original investigations were completed in March 2015 and accused Apple of booking profits generated in Italy through an Irish subsidiary in an effort to lower its taxable income base and save nearly €900 million from 2008 through 2013.

At the time, Apple had called the allegations against its employees "completely without merit". But in December 2015, it was reported Apple had agreed to pay 318 million euros to Italy – only a third of the amount it was said to have failed to pay in corporate taxes over the five year period. However, under Italian law, a settlement agreement does not imply an admission of guilt.

Milan prosecutors investigating the allegations have also asked for the case against two managers from the Italian subsidiary of Apple to be dropped, the source said.

Apple Italia is part of the company's European operation headquartered in Ireland, where Apple pays a significantly lower corporate tax rate compared to other EU countries. Ireland has a corporate tax rate of 12.5% for normal business activities, compared to a standard rate of 27.5% in Italy.

Apple's tax policies in Europe have come under intense scrutiny over the past three years, as the company is said to utilize multiple subsidiary companies located in the Irish city of Cork to move money around without significant tax penalties.

In August, the European Commission ruled that Apple received illegal state aid from Ireland, following a three-year inquiry into the company's tax arrangements in the country. The investigation's results showed that Apple allegedly paid between 0.005% and 1% in taxes in Ireland between 2003 and 2014, compared to the the country's headline 12.5% corporate tax rate.

Apple CEO Tim Cook called the findings "total political crap" and described the lower end 0.005% tax rate as a "false number." In an open letter, Cook said Apple is confident the decision "will be reversed," but the appeal process could take several years in European courts. Apple has previously said it fully complies with international tax law and is the largest taxpayer in the world.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Top Rated Comments

Carlanga Avatar
97 months ago
That Italian judge will be enjoying under the table money for a while from this.
[doublepost=1477573532][/doublepost]
This is a PRSI thread, right? Governments issue arbitrary fines on a weak basis all the time. FEDGOV essentially forced BofA to take over Countrywide bank and a couple years later fined BofA about $14B for actions of Countrywide during the 2008 financial crisis that the FEDGOV itself (The Fed) caused by changing loan qualification requirements for political purposes. When can we fine them?
Congratulations, you were first today to make a European news into a US government complain.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thermodynamic Avatar
97 months ago
That’s total political crap right Tim, now let’s see how many other dogy deals have been made. We’ll start with Ireland please.
I'm sure Bono has some tips he'd share, he's also into using human rights to wind up peoples' sympathies with. (Or if he's not a hypocrite, he's never really said enough detail about where the system is wrong.....)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MH01 Avatar
97 months ago
Apple execs could actually be sent to prison and people would be in denial. Maybe it is a river that runs through the amazon ;)

This sadly will drag on just like the Samsung v apple legal battles .
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rocketman Avatar
97 months ago
This is a PRSI thread, right? Governments issue arbitrary fines on a weak basis all the time. FEDGOV essentially forced BofA to take over Countrywide bank and a couple years later fined BofA about $14B for actions of Countrywide during the 2008 financial crisis that the FEDGOV itself (The Fed) caused by changing loan qualification requirements for political purposes. When can we fine them?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RightMACatU Avatar
97 months ago
Was he Sicilian? :p
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
H2SO4 Avatar
97 months ago
That’s total political crap right Tim, now let’s see how many other dogy deals have been made. We’ll start with Ireland please.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
iphone reasons to upgrade

Apple Outlines 'Reasons to Upgrade' Your iPhone on New Website

Monday March 25, 2024 12:53 pm PDT by
Apple today added a "Why Upgrade" section to its website, which is aimed at encouraging customers with older iPhones to upgrade to a newer model. The website allows customers to compare the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max to the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max. Each comparison shows what new features someone with an older...