EU regulators asking Apple for info on tax structure

The European Union’s competition chief said that she has asked Apple for information about its current tax structure as the regulator seeks to recover billions in back taxes from the tech giant.

“I have been asking for an update on the arrangement made by Apple, the recent way they have been organized, in order to get the feeling whether or not this is in accordance with our European rules but that remains to be seen,” Margrethe Vestager said during a news conference in Lisbon, Portugal, on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

Vestager, the European competition commissioner, ruled last year that Ireland had been granting Apple illegal tax benefits and ordered the iPhone maker to pay about $15 billion in back taxes. Last month, she said that regulators would be taking Ireland to court for failing to collect the money.

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“We are looking into this of course without any kind of prejudice, just to get the information,” Vestager said.

According to Reuters, Vestager said on Tuesday that her request was sent to Apple before news reports based on the “Paradise Papers” emerged that showed the company had set up subsidiaries on the island of Jersey.

“We have no contact after the Paradise Papers,” she said. “We are in the process. There is no particular need.”

“That remains to be seen if we will open more cases after the Paradise Papers,” she added.

Apple said Monday that the move was designed to “preserve its tax payments to the United States.”