Apple wins fight over EUR13 billion tax bill in blow to EU

Apple won its court fight over a record EUR13 billion ($ 20.6 billion) Irish tax bill in a crushing blow to European Union (EU) Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager’s crackdown on preferential fiscal deals for companies.

The judgment by the EU’s lower court on July 15 vindicates Apple CEO Tim Cook’s challenge against a decision he labelled as “political crap”.

While the EU General Court’s ruling can still be appealed, judges delivered a stinging attack on the European Commission for failing to show “to the requisite legal standard” that Ireland’s tax deal broke state– aid law by giving Apple an unfair advantage.

The Apple case is the hallmark of Vestager’s five–year campaign to get rid of allegedly unfair tax deals that some EU governments dole out to favoured multinationals including the likes of Amazon. Apple’s fury at its 2016 tax bill led Cook to blast the EU move.

The EU will consider its next steps after studying the Luxembourg–based court’s judgment, Vestager said in a statement. “If member states give certain multinational companies tax advantages not available to their rivals, this harms fair competition,” she said, adding that the EU “will continue to look at aggressive tax planning measures under EU state aid rules.”

Apple’s huge sales — like those of other US tech giants — have attracted particular scrutiny in Europe, focusing on complicated company structures for transferring profits generated from intellectual property. —