The International Revenue Service (IRS) can audit any business tax return within three years of its filing, as well as collect back taxes owed for up to 10 years. For years, however, Apple has faced criticism for avoiding taxes in both Europe and the United States.
According to Wired, Apple said it would pay back an estimated $38 billion in foreign cash taxes to bring some of the money that was kept oversees back to the United States.
“The magnitude of the tax just signifies the magnitude of Apple’s successful tax avoidance strategies over the last couple of decades,” said Edward Kleinbard, of the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.
Apple’s payment of $38 million would be the largest tax payment of its kind in history. Additionally, the move will be great for the company itself, both financially and in terms of improving its image and brand. During the same week Apple announced its tax offerings, the company also stated that it will invest $30 billion into the U.S. economy over the next five years in hopes of creating 20,000 new jobs.
“Apple is a success story that could only have happened in America, and we are proud to build on our long history of support for the U.S. economy,” added Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.
Reuters reports that Apple was forced to pay Ireland up to 13 billion euros in August of 2016, which equates out to approximately $16 billion USD. The European Commission has taken Dublin to court over its delays in recovering Apple’s money.
“Ireland has an obligation to recover [money] that is bidding under EU law,” said a spokesperson for the Commission. “Changes to U.S. legislation do not alter such an obligation.”
