Apple Declined to be Interviewed by the French Parliament Over Taxes

The French Les Echos reports (via Macg.co) that Apple declined to be interviewed by a French parliamentary commission over tax practices. Along with Apple, Facebook and the Swedish retail giant, IKEA also declined.

Apple has been under fire since a U.S. Senate Subcommittee found that Apple has paid little or no taxes for its overseas profits. The company reacted immediately by issuing a statement which emphasized that Apple does not depend on tax gimmicks.

However, the U.S. findings have made waves in Europe, launching a series of investigations in several countries which have targeted multinationals. But just as the U.S. hearing found that Apple’s move was perfectly legal, the uproar has now begun to fade: the Irish Parliament has voted against investigating Apple’s tax practices.

France, however, has decided to invite multinationals such as Apple, Facebook, IKEA, Google, Starbucks and Amazon to answer questions about the taxes they pay and where. As Les Echoes reports, Apple, Facebook and IKEA have declined to be interviewed.

The commission chaired by Eric Woerth would like to question Apple over its taxes. According to the latest available public numbers, Apple declares in France less than €300 million in revenue, while its real activity is around 3 billion euros, according to MacG.co’s sources. This could raise the bill for unpaid taxes to 7 billion euros.

France’s move to question multinationals about their business practices comes after a June meeting of G8 leaders. That meeting produced an agreement to enact new measures to clamp down on money launderers, illegal tax evaders and corporate tax avoiders.