Apple LogoAn Italian judge has accepted a nearly $50,000 settlement agreement with the head of Apple's Irish-based unit as part of a probe into allegations that the company failed to pay taxes in Italy (via Reuters).

A six-month jail sentence for the Apple executive has been converted into the payment of a 45,000 euro ($49,126) fine as part of the settlement agreement, according to Reuters' source.

The original investigations were completed in March 2015 and accused Apple of booking profits generated in Italy through an Irish subsidiary in an effort to lower its taxable income base and save nearly €900 million from 2008 through 2013.

At the time, Apple had called the allegations against its employees "completely without merit". But in December 2015, it was reported Apple had agreed to pay 318 million euros to Italy – only a third of the amount it was said to have failed to pay in corporate taxes over the five year period. However, under Italian law, a settlement agreement does not imply an admission of guilt.

Milan prosecutors investigating the allegations have also asked for the case against two managers from the Italian subsidiary of Apple to be dropped, the source said.

Apple Italia is part of the company's European operation headquartered in Ireland, where Apple pays a significantly lower corporate tax rate compared to other EU countries. Ireland has a corporate tax rate of 12.5% for normal business activities, compared to a standard rate of 27.5% in Italy.

Apple's tax policies in Europe have come under intense scrutiny over the past three years, as the company is said to utilize multiple subsidiary companies located in the Irish city of Cork to move money around without significant tax penalties.

In August, the European Commission ruled that Apple received illegal state aid from Ireland, following a three-year inquiry into the company's tax arrangements in the country. The investigation's results showed that Apple allegedly paid between 0.005% and 1% in taxes in Ireland between 2003 and 2014, compared to the the country's headline 12.5% corporate tax rate.

Apple CEO Tim Cook called the findings "total political crap" and described the lower end 0.005% tax rate as a "false number." In an open letter, Cook said Apple is confident the decision "will be reversed," but the appeal process could take several years in European courts. Apple has previously said it fully complies with international tax law and is the largest taxpayer in the world.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Top Rated Comments

Carlanga Avatar
111 months ago
That Italian judge will be enjoying under the table money for a while from this.
[doublepost=1477573532][/doublepost]
This is a PRSI thread, right? Governments issue arbitrary fines on a weak basis all the time. FEDGOV essentially forced BofA to take over Countrywide bank and a couple years later fined BofA about $14B for actions of Countrywide during the 2008 financial crisis that the FEDGOV itself (The Fed) caused by changing loan qualification requirements for political purposes. When can we fine them?
Congratulations, you were first today to make a European news into a US government complain.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thermodynamic Avatar
111 months ago
That’s total political crap right Tim, now let’s see how many other dogy deals have been made. We’ll start with Ireland please.
I'm sure Bono has some tips he'd share, he's also into using human rights to wind up peoples' sympathies with. (Or if he's not a hypocrite, he's never really said enough detail about where the system is wrong.....)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MH01 Avatar
111 months ago
Apple execs could actually be sent to prison and people would be in denial. Maybe it is a river that runs through the amazon ;)

This sadly will drag on just like the Samsung v apple legal battles .
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rocketman Avatar
111 months ago
This is a PRSI thread, right? Governments issue arbitrary fines on a weak basis all the time. FEDGOV essentially forced BofA to take over Countrywide bank and a couple years later fined BofA about $14B for actions of Countrywide during the 2008 financial crisis that the FEDGOV itself (The Fed) caused by changing loan qualification requirements for political purposes. When can we fine them?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RightMACatU Avatar
111 months ago
Was he Sicilian? :p
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
H2SO4 Avatar
111 months ago
That’s total political crap right Tim, now let’s see how many other dogy deals have been made. We’ll start with Ireland please.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday April 15, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is less than two months away, and there are already a handful of new features that are expected with the update. Apple should release the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key...
tvOS 18 Thumb 1

Apple Releases tvOS 18.4.1

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released tvOS 18.4.1, a minor update to the tvOS 18 operating system that came out last September. tvOS 18.4.1 comes two weeks after Apple released tvOS 18.4, and it is available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD models. tvOS 18.4.1 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software....
iPhone Security Feature 25

Five iPhone Security Features You Should Be Using

Wednesday April 16, 2025 4:15 pm PDT by
Apple has quite a few security features that it's added to iPhones, iPads, and Macs over the years. Now more than ever, it's important to make sure you're taking advantage of the built-in security tools that are available to keep yourself and your data safe, so we've rounded up a list of the most important options. If you don't already have these enabled, you might want to consider turning...
vision air cable

Images of Apple 'Vision Air' Power Cable Emerge Online

Thursday April 17, 2025 5:55 am PDT by
More images of a redesigned power cable allegedly for a future Apple "Vision Air" headset were today shared online by the prototype collector and leaker known as "Kosutami." Yesterday, the leaker explained that the Apple "Vision Air" will feature a thinner design and switch the battery enclosure and several of its internal structures to titanium to reduce the device's overall weight. Most of ...