It’s a tough day for major tech companies in the EU as the highest court rules against Google’s appeal of a $2.7 billion antitrust fine and orders Apple to repay its €13 billion ($14.4 billion) Irish tax break deemed illegal back in 2016. This decision overturns a lower court ruling in Apple’s favor, confirming that Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid that must be recovered, according to the judges. Apple argues that the EU is retroactively changing the rules, stating that their income was already subject to US taxes as required by international tax law. With an effective tax rate as low as 1 percent on European profits in 2014, Apple received a significant advantage over competitors, leading to the EU Commission’s order to repay “illegal state aid.” Despite these victories for the EU, setbacks against US corporations like Amazon and Starbucks suggest that future cases involving tax havens in member states could pose challenges for the European Commission.
