Apple Must Pay $14 Billion Tax Bill To Ireland, EU Court Rules

Bruce66423 shares a report: The European Union's top court ruled against Apple Tuesday in the tech company's protracted legal battle over contested back taxes in Ireland. The ruling means Apple will be forced to pay Ireland up to $14.4 billion in back taxes and represents the latest setback in Europe for the tech giant. Earlier this year, Apple became the first company to be accused of violating the EU's new major tech competition law. The tax case stretches back to 2016, when the European Commission (EC) ordered Apple repay Ireland roughly $14.4 billion of unpaid taxes. The commission argued that the tech giant had received "illegal" tax benefits from Ireland over the course of two decades. Apple had housed its European headquarters in Ireland and paid a corporate tax rate of less than 1% in some years, which the EC argued gave Apple an unfair advantage over other companies. Apple and Ireland appealed the decision in 2019. The European Court of Justice on Tuesday overturned the lower court decision and upheld the EC's 2016 order. "Today is a big win for European citizens and for tax justice. The Court of Justice confirms ... that Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid which Ireland now has to recover," Margrethe Vestager, the EU competition chief, said in a statement Tuesday.

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