HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) – The EU’s ruling that Apple Inc must pay a huge tax bill to Ireland was clearly based on facts and existing rules and was not a decision aimed against the United States, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Sunday.
Last week, European Union antitrust regulators ordered Apple to pay up to 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) in taxes to the Irish government after ruling that a special scheme to route profits through Ireland was illegal state aid.
Apple’s Chief Executive Tim Cook last week described the ruling as “total political crap”, but France and Germany have come out to back Brussels on the decision.
Juncker said that the EU Commission investigations on taxation have mainly targeted European companies.
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(Reporting by Nate Taplin; Writing by Jason Subler; Editing by Kim Coghill)
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