The second supreme court of the European Union has rejected an order from the European Commission for Apple will refund Ireland € 13 billion (almost $ 15 billion) in back taxes.
Wednesday’s decision by the EU general court is a significant blow to the EU’s executive arm in its campaign to hamper profit shifting by multinationals and limit the power of American big technology.
“The General Court annuls the contested decision because the Commission failed to demonstrate the required legal standard that there was an advantage for the purposes of Article 107 (1) TFEU1,” the judges said, referring to EU competition rules.
Welcoming the ruling, Apple said: “This case was not about the amount of taxes we pay, but where we should pay them. We are proud to be the world’s largest taxpayer, as we know the important role payments play. of taxes in society. “
The landmark European Commission ruling against Apple was issued in August 2016 by Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in a decision that put Europe on the map as a scourge of Silicon Valley.
The EU accused Ireland of allowing Apple to park revenue earned in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India and saved almost any tax.
Brussels said this gave Apple an advantage over other companies, allowing it to avoid around 13 billion euros ($ 14.8 billion) in Irish taxes between 2003 and 2014.
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EU officials argued that this constituted Ireland’s illegal “state aid”.
Apple stance
Apple CEO Tim Cook criticized the accusation at the time as “total political crap” and an attempt by the EU to alter the way multinationals pay taxes.
Apple says the profits in question were always intended to go to the U.S., where they were eventually transferred after a tax reform there.
Ireland called it an “amazing” interpretation of tax law.
The EU’s supreme competitor, Vestager, has been accused by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, of “hating” the United States.
He criticized her as the “tax woman” due to the Apple case, as well as heavy antitrust fines imposed on Google.
Some observers have raised doubts about the Apple case, wondering if the EU was using the antitrust law to crack down on multinationals’ tax optimization strategies.
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