Look at how much Apple's overseas cash hoard has grown in the last 8 years (AAPL)

Apple might have a tax problem. Though it has the support of the US Treasury, the Cupertino company still faces a probe from the European Commission into whether it underpaid taxes on the part of its business based in Ireland. Reports claim a decision is close, and analysts estimate that a penalty could range from the millions to the billions.Tied to the issue here is the process by which big US companies use offshore havens to keep their cash overseas and sidestep higher American tax rates. As this chart from Statista shows, Apple is very familiar with the idea: Based on the companys quarterly filings, it holds nearly $215 billion in foreign subsidiaries, compared to just $16.6 billion in the US.That might be alarming to the unfamiliar, but its important to note that simply using foreign affiliates isnt why Apple is being probed. In fact, that process, while questionable, is both very common and completely legal. Still, with numbers that big, it's easy to see why tax practiceshave become such a prickly issue for Apple over the years.SEE ALSO:Here's how Apple's stock has performed in the five years since Tim Cook became CEOJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: This robot butler is like your own personal R2-D2
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