Apple faces multi-billion euro bill over Irish tax affairs

APPLE could be forced to pay billions of euros in back taxes with the European Commission expected to rules against the company’s tax arrangements with the Irish government.

The ruling, expected on Tuesday, follows a three-year probe into the tech giant’s Irish tax affairs. Margrethe Vestager, the European competition commissioner, is expected to declare the arrangements unlawful under state aid rules.

Apple and Ireland have denied repeatedly that they have a special deal.

Sources familiar with the decision told Reuters the EC will recommend a figure in back taxes that it expects to be collected, but it will be up to Irish authorities to calculate what is owed.

Investment bank JP Morgan has said if Apple is forced to retroactively pay the Irish corporate tax rate of 12.5% on its pre-tax profits collected via Ireland it could cost the company as much as $19bn (£15bn).

Any bill in excess of €1bn would be far more than the €30m each the EC ordered Dutch authorities to recover from Starbucks and Luxembourg from Fiat Chrysler for tax deals. Both companies and countries have appealed those decisions.