Apple Faces $573 Million Fine from French Authorities

Apple has been “surprised” by French authorities with a CAD$573 million (€400 million) tax bill, according to L’Express (via iDownloadblog). Interestingly, Apple has not been notified of the bill, while the Ministry of Economy and Finance declined to comment.

Apple and its tax practices have been in the spotlight of French authorities, who issued the tax bill adjustment after crunching through the fiscal years 2011 to 2013. French newspaper Le Monde says the tax adjustment targets Apple France, an Apple subsidiary, which reported a total income of €69 million to French tax services, while the rest of the income was sent to Apple’s Irish subsidiary.

Apple Retail, which manages the French stores and its products in Ireland, paid €5 million (CAD$7 million) in income tax last year for €555 million (CAD$795 million) revenue. But Apple’s financial 2014 and 2015 is being audited, so there might be an adjustment to the tax bill soon.

The tax adjustment bill isn’t just for Apple: Google, Facebook, and Amazon are in the same boat.

The French tax bill comes shortly after the European Commission said Apple received “illegal state aid” from Ireland and “strongly recommended” the country to recover CAD$18.9 billion in back taxes from the iPhone maker. Both Ireland and Apple will challenge the ruling.