Apple has lost its landmark tax battle against the EU and will have to pay Ireland $14.5 billion in unpaid taxes.
The European Court of Justice announced its decision less than a day after the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro were unveiled. It marks the end of a 10-year battle over Apple’s tax payments in Ireland and questions over whether Apple received illegal tax benefits from the country over 20 years. Adding some weirdness to the case, both Apple and Ireland protested the decision, which would see Apple on the hook (and Ireland profiting from) €13 billion.
The EU initially ruled against Apple in 2016 after a two-year investigation, the decision was overturned by the EU General Court in 2020 following an appeal by Apple and Ireland. Now the European Court of Justice, the bloc’s highest legal body, has overturned that decision.
Apple’s tax saga in the EU is finally over
The money at stake has been held in escrow for some ten years, so the material impact on Apple should be minimal. However, Apple remains defiant of the verdict. In a statement to iMore, the company said: “This case has never been about how much tax we pay, but to which government we are required to pay it. We always pay all the taxes we owe wherever we operate and there has never been any special deal. Apple prides itself on being an engine of growth and innovation across Europe and around the world, and consistently being one of the biggest taxpayers in the world. The European Commission is trying to retroactively ignore our tax laws, which is trying to retroactively ignore our income, and therefore is trying to retroactively change our income. They are already subject to U.S. tax.
Apple further noted that it has paid more than $20 billion in taxes to the United States on the same profits that the EU says should be taxed in Ireland. Apple says that between 2003 and 2014, the decade under the EU survey, the company paid $577 million in taxes to Irish Revenue, 12.5% of the profit it generated in the country.