Apple may owe $8 billion in taxes in Europe

The European Union says that the tech giant has only paid a small fraction of the number

(Getty Images)

The world’s largest company may owe a serious amount in back taxes.

Apple Inc has been accused of owing $8 billion (£5.6 billion) after a European Commission investigation, Bloomberg reports.

Apple’s Irish subsidiary generated $64.1 billion (£59 billion) between 2004 and 2014. The European Union says that the California-based tech giant has only paid a small fraction of the $8 billion it owes.

The EC has been investigating Apple’s taxes since 2014 and has said that it would reach a decision by this coming March.

Tax authorities have also scrutinized the tax arrangements of Starbucks, Amazon and McDonalds.

During an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes program, Apple CEO Tim Cook addressed the criticism of his company’s tax policies.

“That's total political crap, there is no truth behind it,” Mr Cook said back in December 2015.

“We pay every tax dollar we owe.”