The European Union’s top court on Tuesday rejected Apple’s final legal challenge to an order by the bloc’s executive commission to repay 13 billion euros, or the equivalent of more than $14 billion, in back taxes to Ireland, ending the long-running dispute. .
The European Court of Justice overturned a lower court’s earlier decision in the case, saying it “confirms the European Commission’s 2016 decision: Ireland granted Apple illegal aid which Ireland is obliged to recover.”
The case drew outrage from Apple when it was opened in 2016, with CEO Tim Cook calling it “total political bullshit.” Then-US President Donald Trump slammed EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who led the campaign to end special tax deals and crack down on big US tech companies, as the “tax lady” who “really hates America”
The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, had accused Apple of striking an illegal tax deal with Irish authorities so it could pay extremely low tax rates. The EU General Court disagreed in its 2020 ruling, which has now been overturned.
“We are disappointed by today’s decision because the tribunal previously reviewed the facts and categorically overruled this case,” Apple said in a statement.
“There has never been any special deal,” the company said.
Eight years ago, the ruling that found Ireland had granted a sweetheart deal that allows Apple to pay almost no taxes across the European bloc for 11 years dramatically escalated the battle over whether America’s biggest company pays its fair share around the world.
EU headquarters said Ireland granted Apple such lavish tax breaks that the company’s effective corporate tax rate on its European profits fell from 1 percent in 2003 to just 0.005 percent in 2014. Apple has disputed such figures.
The ruling, now upheld, was one of a number of aggressive moves by European officials to hold American companies, particularly large tech firms, accountable under EU rules on taxation, competition and privacy.