EU’s top court dismissed Apple’s appeal against an order to pay Ireland billions in back taxes.
In a dispute with the European Union (EU), Apple lost its last appeal on Tuesday in the EU’s top court to avoid paying $14.34 billion (13 billion euro) in back taxes to Ireland.
The case involved an eight-year dispute with the EU that centered on sweetheart deals that Ireland was offering that let Apple pay almost no taxes across the European bloc for 11 years.
In a press release about its Tuesday decision, the European Court of Justice said its ruling “confirms the European Commission’s 2016 decision: Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid which Ireland is required to recover.”
European antitrust Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who led the charge against Apple, had accused the company in 2016 of striking an illegal tax deal with Irish authorities so that it could pay extremely low rates, adding that through the deals Apple paid next to nothing in taxes while instead it “should have paid taxes worth 13 billion euros on all related profits in Ireland.
