New in OS X: Get MacRumors Push Notifications on your Mac

Resubscribe Now Close

Apple Reaches Deal With France to Pay Estimated $571M in Back-Taxes

Tuesday February 5, 2019 1:27 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple has reached a deal with French authorities to pay an undeclared amount of back-dated tax, according to multiple reports today.


Apple's French division confirmed the tax payment agreement to Reuters, but didn't disclose how much it had agreed to pay, although French media suggest the sum is around 500 million euros ($571 million).
"As a multinational company, Apple is regularly audited by fiscal authorities around the world," Apple France said in a statement. "The French tax administration recently concluded a multi-year audit on the company's French accounts, and those details will be published in our public accounts."
France has been working diligently to stop tech companies like Apple from exploiting tax loopholes in the country. The loopholes are said to have allowed Apple to "minimize taxes and grab market share" at the expense of Europe-based companies.

French President Emmanuel Macron is one of the leaders behind the tax crackdown on international tech companies, with a goal of bringing a more unified corporate tax system across the nineteen euro area states.

As noted by iPhon.fr, Apple and French tax authorities reached the agreement for the payment of several years of unpaid taxes in December, according to French newspaper L'Expansion. The agreement followed a meeting in October between Apple CEO Tim Cook and President Macron, in which both reportedly agreed that a solution would ultimately be enacted by the European Union rather than France.

Apple has had trouble with French tax activist groups accusing the company of wide-scale tax evasion and occupying its Parisian retail stores. In February 2018, Apple sued the activist group "Attac" for its protests in stores, but the High Court of Paris denied Apple's request for an injunction that would have blocked the group from protesting.

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.

Tags: France, tax
[ 61 comments ]

Top Rated Comments

(View all)

Avatar
magicschoolbus
9 months ago
Good. Good job France.
Rating: 22 Votes
Avatar
alleggerita
9 months ago
Tim ain’t gonna be happy about this. Be prepared for a price hike of 2019’s iPhone.
Rating: 21 Votes
Avatar
frifra
9 months ago
I don't know the details here, but tax evasion is a common game with multi-national companies.

Starbucks for example does not make any profits in Germany for years, at least according to their tax statements. So, why keep the stores open? Well, if you just shift your profits by making your stores pay "license fees" to its mother company and list those as costs, then you don't make any profits.
Rating: 18 Votes
Avatar
KrisLord
9 months ago

Can someone explain, why would a company with majority of its R&D spent in US, and purchase component from Global sources, need to pay Tax in France? And What % does it need to pay?


They’ve likely a French legal entity making retail sales in France, they’ll owe corporation tax based on the profit earned there.

These decisions are always about what intercompany cross charges between Apple companies are allowed and what aren’t....
Rating: 12 Votes
Avatar
timber
9 months ago

Can someone explain, why would a company with majority of its R&D spent in US, and purchase component from Global sources, need to pay Tax in France? And What % does it need to pay?

Did you notice these news were from Apple's French division?
That is a company in itself.
As any other company it will pay taxes on its profits just like a champagne retailer will pay in the USA.
Rating: 12 Votes
Avatar
arkitect
9 months ago

Dear Apple,

The UK could use a cash boost; can we have half a billion quid too please <3

Theresa May would probably just give it away to the DUP… instead of spending it on the NHS.
Rating: 9 Votes
Avatar
davester
9 months ago
Sacre Bleu!!! :eek:
Rating: 9 Votes
Avatar
ROGmaster
9 months ago
How terrible.
I suggest opening an account so Apple can receive donations in order to recover some of the money they had to pay the French.
Rating: 6 Votes
Avatar
Romeo_Nightfall
9 months ago

Can someone explain, why would a company with majority of its R&D spent in US, and purchase component from Global sources, need to pay Tax in France? And What % does it need to pay?


is this a real question? or sarcasm
apple sells tons of stuff in the european union, which france is a part. due to tax loopholes the european union has created for multi national companies to settle down in ireland and netherland "double dutch irish sandwich" us and multis hardly pay ANY tax - they pay around 1 percent total tax for everything they sell and do.
its not apples fault to use such holes, but the politicians need money to feed their entourage - and hence they now attack their beloved multis too.
500 million is peanuts anyways
Rating: 5 Votes
Avatar
FreakinEurekan
9 months ago

This isn't really Tax evasion. Apple is still going to paid Tax in US ( Some day ) when it moves those money back to US Shores.

Perhaps you missed the news? President Spray-Tan lowered Apple's tax rate from 35% to 21%, and gave them a one-time 15.5% rate for repatriated funds. It's all back, it cost Apple just $38 billion to USA and $16 billion to Ireland to move all $252 billion it had been storing there. So they "Only" get to keep $198 billion of it. https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/apple-to-incur-38bn-us-tax-bill-as-it-repatriates-irish-cash-pile-1.3359240
Rating: 5 Votes

[ Read All Comments ]