An Apple logo hangs above the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City, in this July 21, 2015, file photo. REUTERS/Mike Segar/Files

IPhone-maker Apple could be looking at a tax bill of in excess of $8bn (€7.29bn) should a European Commission investigation rule against the Cupertino giant.

Apple’s taxes have come under severe scrutiny in recent times and a result of the EC investigation into the firm’s returns could come as early as March.

The company has been accused of using its subsidiaries in Ireland to avoid paying full taxes on revenues generated outside its home country.

According to new research from Bloomberg, if Apple is forced to pay a rate of 12.5pc it could result in the firm paying a large amount of back tax on the $64.1bn of profit generated in the eight year period between 2004 and 2012.

It is understood that Apple makes over half of its revenue from outside the US and that its current foreign tax rate is in the region of 1.8pc.

While the company did inform investors of the risk the investigation could pose, as of last summer Apple had a cash pile of $203bn.

Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook, has in the past denied Apple has used any tricks to avoid paying its taxes.

Online Editors