Apple says they will also not pay $ 14.3 billion in back taxes to the EU

The EU has ordered Apple to pay about $ 14.3 billion (€ 13 billion) for to cover back taxes that the EU says owe Ireland. But Apple is fighting, saying the tax bill "defies reality and common sense" in a new statement before a European court this morning.

Apple, which has a European headquarters in Ireland for tax purposes, was originally ordered to pay back the tax in 2016 after it paid a tax rate of just 0.005% in the country for 2014. But Apple's lawyers insist that the EU is just trying to get "headlines by quoting tiny numbers."

"The Commission argues that substantially all of Apple's profits from all sales outside of America must be attributed to two branches in Ireland," one of Apple's many attorneys on the case, Daniel Beard, told the EU court on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

Beard allegedly pointed out that Apple's products, from the iPhone to the App Store, were all developed in the United States, and that it would be unfair to try to tie profits from elsewhere in Europe to Ireland's headquarters. Apple last year paid $ 0.00 in federal tax in United States despite earning $ 11.2 billion in profits.

Beard said that if the European Court of Justice would claw back its profits from Apple, they would "change the international tax system," a proposal that would appear absurd in the face because even the EU has limits to what it can achieve outside Europe.

Ireland is on Apple's side in this dispute, largely because it likes to be a tax haven for large multinational corporations.

"The Commission's decision The move is fundamentally flawed, ”Paul Gallagher, a lawyer for Ireland, told the court today.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment sent early Tuesday.