Apple Gets Hit with a $14 Billion Tax Bill—That’s One Expensive Fruit!
Summary
In a twist worthy of a dramatic courtroom thriller, Apple just took a hefty hit from the EU’s top court, which ruled that the tech behemoth has to cough up over 13 billion euros—yep, that’s about $14 billion in back taxes. Talk about a pricey fruit salad! 🍏🥴 This saga has been simmering for a decade, and let’s just say, the suspense has been thicker than a good apple pie! The European Commission started poking around Apple’s tax habits back in 2014, but it wasn’t until 2016 that the competition chief, Margrethe Vestager, waved her regulatory wand and declared that Apple was enjoying some pretty sweet tax breaks courtesy of Ireland. You know, just casually paying a tax rate of 0.005% in 2014—which is like finding one lonely cherry at the bottom of a fruit bowl when everyone else is getting the maraschino treatment. 🍒 So, what’s the deal? The EU courts said that Ireland threw Apple a tax party it wasn’t allowed to gatecrash with all those unfair advantages, and now the Irish government has to collect “unlawful aid.” I guess you could say Apple’s been bitten by the taxman. Tim Cook, the head honcho over at Apple, called the tax-break allegations “political crap” (yikes, Tim) and insisted that his company was playing by the rules—kind of like saying you didn’t cheat in Monopoly after landing on Boardwalk with both hotels! Back in 2019, Apple and Ireland teamed up to spring into action with an appeal, and they scored a win from the General Court in 2020. However, the higher-ups, aka the Court of Justice, decided to hit ‘undo’ on that victory, declaring their own fabulous finale to this epic tax tale.
Original Source: www.businessinsider.com
