Apple must pay €13bn (about US$14 billion) in unpaid taxes to Ireland by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), reports the BBC.
The European Commission, Europe’s anti-trust and consumer investigation agency, ruled in 2016 that Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands have attracted investment and jobs by helping big companies avoid tax in other countries, including European Union members.
The commission said Ireland was too lenient in rulings it gave to Apple and which helped the company shield tens of billions of dollars in profit from taxation. At 12.5%, Ireland’s corporate tax rate beats the U.S. rate of 35%. However, participating companies don’t pay that 12.5% under the double Irish structure.
The Irish government wasn’t happy with the EU ruling. It worried about being held accountable for any depreciation on the money went into an escrow account if the tech giant should win an appeal at some point and need a refund.
“We are not the global tax collector for everybody else,” Ireland’s finance minister Pascal Donohoe said in September 2018.
Tim Cook branded the European Commission ruling “total political crap.” Apple’s CEO also suggested the “retroactive” tax bill was an attempt by the European Union to grab taxes owed to the U.S. treasury and harmonize tax rates across the 28-nation bloc.
Apple and Ireland appealed the original ruling, claiming the tax treatment was in-line with local and EU laws. won their case in 2020, with the General Court in Luxembourg deciding that the commission failed to show to “the requisite legal standard” that the US tech giant secured an unfair tax advantage in the decade to 2014.
However, the ECJ has now said its decision on the matter was final and that “Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid which Ireland is required to recover,” according to the BBC. Apple said it was disappointed with the decision and accused the European Commission of “trying to retroactively change the rules”.
Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today
