Apple, the world’s most valuable technology company, is under investigation in Italy for allegedly evading more than 1 billion euros ($1.35 billion) in taxes, two people familiar with the case said.
The Cupertino, Calif.,-based company, which was fined about 1 million euros in 2011 and 2012 by Italy’s competition regulator in a warranty case, may have used foreign companies to avoid paying taxes in Italy, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the probe is continuing.
“Apple pays every dollar and euro it owes in taxes and we are continuously audited by governments around the world,” Apple said in an emailed statement. “The Italian tax authorities already audited Apple Italy in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and confirmed that we were in full compliance with the OECD documentation and transparency requirements. We are confident the current review will reach the same conclusion.”
Italian weekly magazine L’Espresso reported earlier on its website that the case involves Apple’s tax payments in Italy during 2010 and 2011. No one in the Milan Prosecutor’s Office responded to phone calls after normal office hours.
The shifting of profits by multinational companies is costing the U.S. and Europe at least $100 billion per year in lost tax revenue, according to Kimberly Clausing, an economics professor at Reed University in Portland, Oregon.
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This article originally published at Bloomberg here
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