The European Commission has directed Apple to pay billions in back taxes, a decision that has been upheld by the EU’s top court. European Union antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager has celebrated this as a major victory in her crackdown against Big Tech’s tax arrangements with EU countries. The court also ruled against Google in a separate case involving anticompetitive practices, with a fine of 2.42 billion euros being upheld.
Vestager, known for taking on Big Tech giants, has been praised for these landmark victories, which will likely influence her successor’s approach in similar cases. The Commission had ordered Apple to pay 13 billion euros in back taxes to Ireland due to favorable tax rulings that reduced its tax burden significantly. The Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the EU supported this decision, stating that Ireland had granted Apple unlawful aid.
Apple has expressed disappointment with the ruling, claiming that it has paid taxes in line with Irish tax laws. In a separate filing, Apple announced a one-time income tax charge of up to $10 billion in its fourth quarter. Despite challenging the ruling, Ireland has cooperated in global tax rule overhauls and dropped its opposition to its 12.5 percent corporate tax rate.
The ruling against Google relates to anticompetitive practices involving its own price comparison shopping service, leading to a 2.42 billion euro fine. Google has faced multiple EU antitrust fines in the past decade, totaling 8.25 billion euros. The company has made changes to comply with the Commission’s decision but is awaiting judgements on two other cases. These two rulings, as well as the Apple decision, are final and cannot be appealed.
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