Apple is reportedly getting the support of the US government in the company's planned appeal in the General Court. The Cupertino manufacturer was penalized by EU to pay Dublin up to US$14.8 billion in back taxes.
EU's ruling, as evidenced by the record tax demand, said Apple entered into an abnormally favourable contractual agreement from the Irish government which ended up as illegitimate subsidizations. In December, Apple brought up its case on General Court in Luxembourg in hopes to influence EU's decision.
In a Reuters report published on Tuesday, a source who spoke on condition of anonymity said that he can confirm the intervention of Washington in the said case. "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 who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter," the source said.
The Trump administration has not issued a statement regarding the move. As part of the administration's tax reform, it has a tentative proposal of a US$2.6 billion tax break in corporate profits being held offshore. The Obama administration disapproved of EU's ruling and called it out for cashing out big corporations in the US.
Another source said Apple's appeal is expected to be heard by the General Court in late 2018. Apple was vocal about this situation, saying the company had been an easy target for EU and its basis for the ruling is an "absurd theory".
Apart from Apple, some US companies dealing with the same debacle include Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Google, Amazon, Starbucks, and McDonald's. Starbucks and Fiat both have challenged EU ruling in the General Court.
Last week, Google was fined by EU with US$2.7 billion for an anti-trust violation. The search giant also said in a statement that it is considering an appeal and will pursue its case.
