The French authorities want to remove 400 million euros from the accounts of the Apple company, a fiscal audit made for the period 2011-2013 relevant to the fact that Apple would have to pay additional tax. The amount is very large and although it has not yet been confirmed by the French authorities or Apple, there is a chance that at least part of it will be paid.
The French authorities have investigated the way in which the Apple company transfers its earnings from the country to Ireland, declaring that this practice is not exactly legal. In this idea, they calculated Apple's receipts for the 3 years and came to the conclusion that approximately 400 million euros are owed by the Americans as taxes at the moment.
In 2015, Apple France declared revenues of 555 million euros and paid tax of 5 million euros, so less than 1% of its total revenues. This was possible thanks to the fiscal strategy by which the subsidiary in Ireland receives all the money collected in Europe and contracts various services from the subsidiaries in the other countries.
Apple has been notified since 2014 that a financial audit is being carried out by the French tax authorities, so the company had enough time to prepare its lawyers. Now it remains to be seen when the authorities will publicly announce the results of this investigation and how Apple will decide to treat the problem next year.
Apart from Apple, the French authorities want to recover money including from Amazon, Google or Facebook, the total amount amounting to at least 2.5 billion euros, including Apple's 400 million.
"This arrangement is not illegal in itself, but it can be reconsidered by Bercy in cases of abuse. And, in particular, when transfer prices are too high, that is to say, when an excessive turnover escapes from France. Fiscal control then gives rise to a debate during which the company concerned must provide supporting documents"
