The company settled a dispute with the French administration for ten years of unpaid taxes.
Background: French authorities carried out audits of Apple’s French accounts for the past years, the details of which will be made available in Apple’s public accounts. This resulted in a negotiation between authorities and the company, which reportedly ended in December.
What happened? French media report that a deal was reached on 10 years of back taxes. The figure has not yet found official confirmation, though it is currently being widely reported by news agencies to be around €500m. In February 2018, French authorities did something similar with Amazon, asking the company to pay circa €200m.
Why is it important? The tide is turning against tech companies on taxation. Despite the ongoing struggle in reaching an international common position, both the EU and the OECD are working on an international framework for a Digital Tax; and while an overarching framework is pending, some countries (including France) are not scared to go their own way on introducing new taxes. Companies seem to understand things are changing, and are starting to pay much more in the countries where they make their profits.
