A Reuters report on Tuesday claims the U.S. government has filed an application in the European Union General Court to intervene in the ongoing tax case between Apple and the EU. The report quotes the ever-popular “source familiar with the matter.”
“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,” said the source, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Back in August, the European Commission found that Apple had received illegal state aid from Ireland, due to the Cupertino firm’s only paying between 0.005% and 1% in taxes between 2003 and 2014. Apple was ordered to pay up to 13 billion euros to Ireland in back taxes as a result of the decision.
Apple appealed the case in December, arguing the company was a “convenient target” for the EU and that the EU competition enforcer used an “absurd theory” to come up with a punitive figure.
Ireland has also filed an appeal in the case, and denies it gave Apple any favorable treatment, saying the full amount of tax due was paid by the iPhone maker. “Ireland does not do deals with taxpayers,” the country said.
The report did not specify the date the application was filed, so it isn’t known if the interventions was made under the Obama or Trump administrations. The Reuters report cites another source with “knowledge of the matter” as saying the General Court is expected to hear the case in late 2018.
