Huge setback for Apple! Tech giant loses EU court battle over 13 billion euro tax bill in Ireland

By Team Asianet Newsable | First Published Sep 10, 2024, 2:14 PM IST

The EU's highest court has ruled against Apple, upholding a 2016 order for the tech giant to pay €13 billion in back taxes to Ireland. The court confirmed that Ireland granted Apple illegal tax benefits, marking the end of a long-running legal dispute.

The long-running issue came to an end on Tuesday when the European Union's top court dismissed Apple's last legal fight against an order from the bloc's executive commission to refund 13 billion euros in past taxes to Ireland.

"Confirms the European Commission's 2016 decision: Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid which Ireland is required to recover," the European Court of Justice said in overturning a lower court's prior ruling in the case.

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When the lawsuit was first brought in 2016, Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed his indignation, calling it "total political crap." The European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager led the drive to remove special tax breaks and take action against large American internet corporations. At the time, U.S. President Donald Trump attacked Vestager, calling her the "tax lady" who "really hates the U.S."

The European Union's General Court disapproved of the European Commission's (the bloc's executive body) 2020 decision, accusing Apple of negotiating an unlawful tax arrangement with Irish authorities in order to pay astronomically low rates. Apple released a statement saying, "We are disappointed with today's decision as previously the General Court reviewed the facts and categorically annulled this case."

Apple and Ireland appealed the Commission's decision in 2019, and in 2020 the EU General Court sided with the U.S. tech giant. The EU's second-highest court anulled the Commission's 2016 decision and said that the executive arm did not prove that the Irish government had given Apple a tax advantage.

The Commission in turn appealed the General Court's decision, sending the litigation up to the ECJ.

The case, which first began under outgoing competition chief Margrethe Vestager, highlights the continued conflict between U.S. tech giants and the EU, which has sought to tackle issues from data protection to taxation and antitrust.

Most recently, the Commission hit the iPhone maker hit Apple with an antitrust fine of 1.8 billion euro ($1.99 billion) in March for abusing its dominant position in the market for the distribution of music streaming apps.

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