Apple said that its French division has agreed to make a payment to the country’s tax authorities following a multi-year audit on the company’s accounts. The statement confirms earlier information gathered by L’Express, which reported that Apple reached a confidential settlement to pay back taxes at the end of 2018. While the company has not disclosed how much it agreed to pay, the information from L’Express points to a sum close to EUR 500 million, covering a period of ten years.
The tax audit reportedly targeted disputed practices that sought to minimize the company’s tax bill in the country. A year ago, Amazon was at the centre of a similar case and agreed to make an undisclosed payment to French authorities to settle a tax dispute covering the 2006-2010 period.
The French government has recently announced plans to introduce a new tax targeting digital sales from the so-called GAFA companies (Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon). Meanwhile, economy minister Bruno Le Maire is also progressing work with his European counterparts so that the tax is agreed and enforced at EU level.
