Apple is relocating its iTunes arm to Ireland on Feb. 4. The global iTunes business assets are currently headquartered in Luxembourg. In a letter sent out to developers, Apple said that the non-U.S. side of the business, which includes Apple Music, the iTunes Store, the App Store, and the iBooks Store, will begin operating from the European headquarters in Cork on Feb. 5. ArsTechnica notes that Apple is essentially moving its business from one low-tax European nation to another and that the tech behemoth's move could be seen as "a careful slight to top EU politicians."
In an August ruling that both Apple and Ireland have promised to challenge, the EU Commission ordered the country to collect an additional €13bn (£10.8bn) in taxes (plus interest) from the tech multinational. According to the EU, the favorable tax rate Ireland had imposed on Apple was anticompetitive for the tax systems of the other member nations and could even be considered illegal state aid. Apple has called the EU ruling "political crap" while Ireland has said that the EU Commission is "attempt[ing to] rewrite the Irish corporation tax rules."
The move to Ireland from Luxembourg does not come as a surprise. Apple signaled that it would be relocating when it transferred an estimated $9 billion (£7.2 billion) in iTunes assets between the two countries in September 2016. In addition, developer contracts were moved to Apple Distribution International, one of the tech giant's two main Irish companies.
Apple has about 5,500 employees in Cork. In 2016, the company announced that it would add a thousand more workers in the Cork headquarters. Apple has plans to build a €850 million (£725 million) data center for iCloud and iTunes in Athenry, a town in County Galway, but the project is currently being opposed by local residents.
