Bloomberg put together an FAQ about the EU tax ruling. Here are a few of the questions and answers:
Q: Can Apple afford to pay the bill?
A: Easily. As of last month, Apple had $232 billion in cash, with about $214 billion of that being held overseas.Q: Who receives the money if Apple ends up paying?
A: The money gets paid to Ireland, which puts those funds into an escrow account and leaves it there until any appeal process has fully concluded.Q: Is the EU singling out Apple or forcing other companies to obey too?
A: It’s not just Apple. The EU authority has already ordered the Netherlands and Luxembourg to recover as much as 30 million euros ($33.3 million) apiece in back taxes from Starbucks Corp. and a Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV unit. Vestager is also probing Amazon Inc. and McDonald’s Corp.’s affairs in Luxembourg and has signaled she’s willing to add Google parent Alphabet Inc.’s 130 million-pound ($184 million) tax deal with the U.K. to her growing list of investigations.
Here’s a link to the FAQ.