Luxemburg City, 10 September 2024 (TDI): The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ordered Apple to pay Ireland for unpaid taxes worth €13 billion (£11 billion; $14 billion).
Eight years ago, the EU Commission accused Ireland of providing Apple with improper tax breaks. However, the Irish government has continuously contested the idea that the tax should be repaid.
The Court of Justice renders a final ruling in the case and upholds the 2016 ruling of the European Commission that Ireland gave Apple illegal aid, which Ireland must repay.
According to an Apple spokesperson, “The question in this situation has always been not how much tax we must pay, but to which government.
Wherever we do business, we always pay all taxes due and there has never been a discounted rate.”
“Apple is proud to be a global leader in innovation and growth, as well as one of the biggest taxpayers in the world.”
After a protracted legal conflict, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has now, at last, supported the decision made by the European Commission eight years ago.
The decision dealt with the tax treatment of earnings made by two Irish-based Apple subsidiaries and covered the years 1991 to 2014.
Because other businesses could not benefit from the identical tax arrangements, such arrangements were ruled to be unlawful.
The tech giant unveiled its new iPhone 16 lineup one day prior to the news.
Also read: Apple Launches iPhone 16, Watch Series 10
“The EU is attempting to amend the regulations retroactively, ignoring the fact that our revenue was previously taxed in the US as required by international tax law.”
Apple continued, “We are dissatisfied with the ruling made today because the General Court previously considered the circumstances and ruled that the case was firmly dismissed.”
When the Commission issued its initial decision, it was trying to punish large, multinational corporations for what it saw as their alleged use of sophisticated financial techniques to avoid paying taxes.
Ireland appealed the decision, and in 2020 the ECJ’s lower court reversed it. The higher court has now overturned that decision, citing legal inconsistencies.
This implies that Ireland will have to pursue Apple for the unpaid taxes, something Dublin has been attempting to prevent via years of legal fighting.
The European Court of Justice has also decided that Google has to pay a punishment of €2.4 billion (£2 billion) for exploiting its shopping comparison service’s dominant market position.
Also read: Apple Plans to Switch to OLED Screens by 2025
The sanction was first imposed by the European Commission in 2017, and the internet giant had been contesting the decision.
Though Google was later hit with an even larger fine of €4.3 billion in 2018 for allegations that it had unfairly promoted its own apps using Android software, the penalty was at the time the largest the Commission had ever imposed.
This ruling ends Google’s protracted legal battle, just like it does Apple’s.
