Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s Latest Woes? Illegal Tax Breaks in Ireland

Just when you thought things couldn’t possibly get much worse for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) , they most definitely have. As reported by The Street’s Jonathan Marino, the new week has begun the same as the last one ended, with the Cupertino tech giant mired in controversy and its once-lauded reputation seemingly lying in tatters around it.

“Apple stock is up 25% so far this year, but that could all change as of this morning. Shares are down more than 1% after a European Commission investigation reportedly found the company benefitted from billions of dollars of improper tax breaks in Ireland,” Marino said.

The EU has contended that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) twice received  what amounted to illegal state aide from Ireland, in 1991 and 2007, allegations which Ireland has denied. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was paying just 2% taxes in Ireland through a process known as the “Double Irish”, in which their Irish subsidiary makes royalty payments to a second subsidiary set up in a tax haven like the British Virgin Islands, and then claims those payments as tax deductions in Ireland.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will have 30 days to respond to the allegations, which could end up with them owing back taxes for the past ten years totalling billions of euros. The ruling is also likely to affect other inversion-style deals Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) had planned in the U.S.

The latest spot of trouble for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) follows a week in which they dealt with the fallout from “bendgate”, as well as their botched iOS update which crippled some phones. The threat of a new security flaw found in Unix, which powers Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s Mac operating system OSX, also reared its ugly head.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is down 0.83% in trading today to slide back under the $100.00 mark at $99.91.

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