The European Union has ordered Apple to pay roughly $14.three billion (13 billion euros) to cowl again taxes the EU says is owed to Eire. However Apple is placing up a combat and stated the tax invoice “defies actuality and customary sense” in a brand new assertion to a European court docket this morning.

Apple, which has a European headquarters in Eire for tax functions, was initially ordered to pay the again taxes in 2016 after the corporate paid a tax price of simply 0.005% within the nation for 2014. However Apple’s legal professionals insist that the EU is simply making an attempt to get “headlines by quoting tiny numbers.”

“The Fee contends that basically all of Apple’s income from all of its gross sales exterior the Americas have to be attributed to 2 branches in Eire,” considered one of Apple’s many legal professionals on the case, Daniel Beard, advised the EU Basic Court docket on Tuesday, in accordance with Reuters.

Beard reportedly identified that Apple’s merchandise, from the iPhone to its App Retailer, have been all developed within the U.S. and that making an attempt to tie income from elsewhere in Europe to the Eire headquarters can be unfair. Final 12 months Apple paid $0.00 in federal tax within the U.S. regardless of making $11.2 billion in revenue.

Beard stated that if the European Court docket needed to claw again income from Apple they need to “change the worldwide tax system,” a proposal that would seem absurd on its face as a result of even the EU has limits to what it could accomplish exterior of Europe.

Eire is on Apple’s aspect on this dispute, largely as a result of it likes being a tax haven for big multinational companies.

“The Fee’s choice is essentially flawed,” Paul Gallagher, a lawyer for Eire reportedly advised the court docket at the moment.

Apple didn’t reply to a request for remark despatched early Tuesday.