EU Apple tax demand precipitates trans-Atlantic row

London

THE European Union's 13 billion euro (S$19.7 billion) tax demand from Apple has precipitated a trans-Atlantic trade row.

The US furiously protested against the European Commission's (EC) anti-competition order that Apple pay back taxes to Ireland on the grounds that the derisory tax of well under one percent was an effective subsidy. The Obama administration and US senators said the decision undermined international tax norms by giving multinational companies foreign tax credits that would reduce their eventual tax bills in the US.