Apple has been awfully active over the last decade trying to get its tax bill down.
In a deep dive into Apple’s tax-appeal cases since 2004, the San Francisco Chronicle found that the company has appealed tax assessments in Santa Clara County 489 times since 2004. In total, according to the report, Apple has disputed taxes on $8.5 billion in property value.
While Apple is not unique in disputing taxes, there are some cases of the company having real differences with tax authorities. In one example uncovered by the San Francisco Chronicle, Apple disputed a $1 billion tax assessed value on several buildings around its Apple Park headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. Apple said that the properties were actually worth $200. Apple used the same $200 assessed value on a property that the tax assessor valued at $384 million.
Disputing such a major tax bill could have a profoundly important impact on the company. Apple is the largest taxpayer in Santa Clara County and paid $56 million in taxes in the 2017-2018 tax year. Getting that down a bit only improves the company’s bottom line—even if the amount is immaterial to its broader performance.
But Apple isn’t alone in seeking some tax breaks. Genentech has appearled 653 tax assessments to the tune of $19 billion. Walgreens has disputed 60 assessments worth $2.2 billion.
Apple did not immediately respond to a Coins2Day request for comment on the report.