EU Tribunal Rejects Apple's Appeal In Tax Dispute

A legal advisor has pointed out to the top European Union court that there were legal mistakes in the EU tribunal's decision, favoring Apple in a $14 billion tax dispute. The adviser recommends a reevaluation of the case, posing a potential challenge for Apple.

The legal action targeting Apple's tax practices was a component of the European Union's antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager's, broader initiative to scrutinize agreements between multinational corporations and EU nations that regulatory authorities deemed as providing unjust state aid, as per a report by the Economic Times.

In its 2016 ruling, the European Commission stated that Apple had gained advantages from two Irish tax decisions spanning over twenty years, leading to an artificial reduction of its tax liability to as minimal as 0.005 per cent in the year 2014.

In 2020, the General Court of the European Union upheld Apple's objection, contending that regulators had not fulfilled the legal criteria to demonstrate that Apple had received an unjust advantage. However, Advocate General Giovanni Pitruzzella at the EU Court of Justice (CJEU) expressed dissent, proposing that CJEU judges should invalidate the General Court's decision and remand the case for further consideration by the lower tribunal.

Despite Apple and Dublin lodging appeals against the decision, Apple was still required to transfer the entire sum, held in an escrow account by Ireland. The Irish government has consistently asserted that, even in the event of an unsuccessful appeal and retention of the funds, other European Union member states may assert demands for a portion of the overdue taxes.