Tech giant Apple has won a landmark court case against the European Commission over a dispute relating to a 13 billion euro ($14.9 billion) Irish tax bill.
CNBC reports that tech giant Apple has won a landmark case this week against the European Commission relating to a 2016 dispute over a 13 billion euros ($14.9 billion) tax bill for its operation in the country of Ireland. The commission concluded in August 2016 that the Irish government had given the tech giant an improper tax advantage.
It was ruled in 2016 that the Irish government granted Apple illegal benefits and ordered the Irish government to recover $14.9 billion in unpaid taxes. The commission stated at the time that Ireland had enabled Apple to pay “substantially less tax than other businesses over many years,” meaning that Apple was allowed to pay a corporate tax rate of only 1 percent on its European profits in 2003 which dropped to 0.005 percent in 2014.
The Irish government and Apple successfully appealed the commission’s decision with Apple arguing the order to repay taxes ” defies reality and common sense.” The Irish government commented on the latest court ruling stating that it has always been clear “that there was no special treatment provided to the two Apple companies” and that “the correct amount of Irish tax was charged taxation in line with normal Irish taxation rules.”
The European Commission said in a statement that it “will continue to look at aggressive tax planning measures under EU State aid rules to assess whether they result in illegal State aid.” The Commission added that it “will carefully study the judgment and reflect on possible next steps.”
An Apple spokesperson told CNBC: “We thank the General Court for their time and consideration of the facts. We are pleased they have annulled the Commission’s case.” Apple shares rose by 2 percent in premarket trading based on the news.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com
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