Report Says U.S. Government Filed to Intervene in Apple's Tax Appeal in Europe

EU apple taxThe U.S. government has filed an application with the General Court of the European Union to intervene in an ongoing tax-related case between Apple and the European Commission, according to Reuters.

"I can confirm the United States filed an application with the European Union General Court to intervene in the case involving the retroactive application of state aid rules to Apple," said the source, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The report did not specify when the application was submitted, so it's unclear if it occurred under the Barack Obama or Donald Trump administrations.

Last August, following a three-year investigation, the European Commission found Apple received illegal state aid from Ireland. The iPhone maker allegedly paid between 0.005 percent and 1 percent in taxes in Ireland between 2003 and 2014, compared to the the country's headline 12.5 percent corporate tax rate.

The European Commission ordered Apple to pay up to 13 billion euros to Ireland in back taxes as a result of its decision.

Apple has not paid the amount and appealed the case in December, arguing that the European Commission made "fundamental errors" by failing to recognize that its "profit-driving activities," in particular the development and commercialization of intellectual property, were controlled and managed in the United States.

Ireland has also appealed the case, denying that it gave any favourable tax treatment to Apple. In a statement, the Irish government said the full amount of tax in the case was paid by Apple, adding that no state aid was provided. "Ireland does not do deals with taxpayers," the country said.

Apple's top lawyer Bruce Sewell earlier said the company is a "convenient target" because it "generates lots of headlines," allowing European commissioner Margrethe Vestager to become "Dane of the year" for 2016.

The report, citing a source with knowledge of the matter, said the General Court is expected to hear the case in late 2018.

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.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
replay all time playlist apple music

Apple Music Debuts All-New Personalized Playlist

Monday June 30, 2025 7:16 am PDT by
As part of its 10-year celebrations of Apple Music, Apple today released an all-new personalized playlist that collates your entire listening history. The playlist, called "Replay All Time," expands on Apple Music's existing Replay features. Previously, users could only see their top songs for each individual calendar year that they've been subscribed to Apple Music, but now, Replay All...

Top Rated Comments

VulchR Avatar
104 months ago
Not sure what the US government can say to help Apple. The arrangement Apple has with Ireland is ludicrous, and it is little wonder the EU are taking action.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
robeddie Avatar
104 months ago
Apple found a loophole. Close the loophole, raise the taxes on them going forward, but don't penalize them for something that was previously agreed to by the Irish government.
If the Ireland violated the EU by making the agreement with Apple, they should be penalized.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
H2SO4 Avatar
104 months ago
As long as the same arrangement was available to all companies it is nothing to do with the EU. They don't get to set countries tax rates.
Yes it does. You are in the EU, you agree to abide by their rules. Don't like it, get out.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LordVic Avatar
104 months ago
Just want to clarify for my own head:

Ireland claims they have the right to negotiate taxes Independantly of the EU with international organizations. Even despite their own corporate flat tax rate.

Apple is claiming that the revenues that Apple claims in Ireland aren't taxable in Ireland because the Revenues are only earned because of invention / R&D that is created in the US.

Apple claims on their US tax forms most of their money is earned internationally, and they don't need to pay taxes on their full profits in the US.


Am I missing something? I know creative accounting is the name of the game, But how does Apple believe that they can claim profits / revenues in areas, not paying taxes in those areas and then claiming it's fine because they run businesses elsewhere.
[doublepost=1499192769][/doublepost]
No. That misconception is part of the problem. Apple pays more taxes than any U.S. company based on their earnings. Should they pay even more simply because they're the most successful?
The question is, how much of their earnings based on percentage is Apple paying?

Taxation needs to be progressive in nature to be able to afford all the industry and infrastructure we all require. Companies who make a lot less than Apple, who cannot afford the international manipulations of tax load that major corporations can, are the ones who inevitably end up paying a higher percentage of their own profits to taxes than the larger companies

While Apple might be the #1 payer of tax, if they're paying at a rate that is far lower than companies who make less than them, this is the problem

In addition, Apple likes to report all their profits / earnings in their US balance sheets, but only pay taxes on money earned in the US. While I agree that you should only be paying taxes on Profits in a region, if you're going to claim all your international profits are your US corporate profits, than thats what you pay tax on.

Apple should be forced to break their books up by nationality that they participate in, and should be forced to file taxation on a per country basis.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
unlinked Avatar
104 months ago
The arrangement Apple has with Ireland is ludicrous, and it is little wonder the EU are taking action.
As long as the same arrangement was available to all companies it is nothing to do with the EU. They don't get to set countries tax rates.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
apolloa Avatar
104 months ago
Isn't it pathetic? Apple goes crying to the US government because it fiddled money, effectively laundering it IMO, and the EU takes issue with 'Ireland' on it, yet Apple then tries to argue no..

They really should shut up and pay Ireland, it was a very clear breach of law.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)