Apple has appealed against a European Union (EU) ruling levying a tax of $14 billion on the tech giant. The company stated that EU regulators deliberately sought to impose the highest possible penalty on it. The tax was imposed in August.
Apple is being backed by Ireland which denies giving any special treatment to the company. Ireland claims that Apple is merely using the provisions which are available to all international companies. Apple has described the EU's actions are politically motivated.
Apple's chief lawyer Bruce Sewell told Reuters that: "Apple is not an outlier in any sense that matters to the law. Apple is a convenient target because it generates lots of headlines."
He also added that EU has widely misinterpreted corporate laws governing the relation between Ireland and Apple. Sewell claims that Apple is being made a scapegoat due to its success.
The company intends to argue that the commission did not act diligently in its investigations as it ignored tax experts recommended by Irish authorities. Sewell stated that the EU's decision does not seem to have taken cognizance of the opinions provided by the said tax experts.
The EU believes that Ireland lets Apple evade taxes by giving it preferential treatment. The EU is seeking to collect taxes dating all the way back to 2003. According to European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, Apple's Irish tax bill amounted to a tax rate of 0.005 percent in 2014.
Ireland is also lending support to Apple. The country stated that the commission had overstepped its boundaries, amounting to intrusion towards EU member states' national sovereignty regarding their tax affairs. Ireland boasts of a relatively favorable tax regime for corporations vis-a-vis other EU member states.
With this new development, it is likely that the case will be dragged on for a long time.