Apple: EU seeks support in battle over billionaire fine – 05/23/2023 – Market

EU competition regulators appealed to the bloc’s highest court on Tuesday to overturn a lower court ruling that imposed a record €13 billion payment on Apple. in back taxes in Ireland.

The payment was imposed by a 2016 European Commission decision, which found that two Irish tax rulings had artificially reduced Apple’s tax burden for more than two decades.

But in 2020, the General Court said regulators failed to meet the legal standard to show the company enjoyed an unfair advantage. Apple, for its part, has refuted the Commission’s arguments, saying it has paid its fair share of taxes in the country.

“Its outcome will determine whether member states can continue to grant substantial tax breaks to multinationals in exchange for jobs and investments,” Commission lawyer Paul-John Loewenthal told the CJEU (Court of Justice of the European Union), in reference to to the most recent request for a mistrial.

Loewenthal told the Court of Justice judges that the 2016 judgment was “legally flawed” and must be overturned.

CJEU Advocate General Giovanni Pitruzzella will issue a non-binding opinion on 9 November, followed by the Court’s decision.

“The Commission asserts that these profits should be attributed to branches in Ireland, but they were subject to US tax regime,” Daniel Beard, an attorney representing Apple, told the Court.

“Apple has built up reserves for these taxes in the United States and is paying around €20 billion ($106.9 billion) in US taxes on those same profits that the Commission says should have been taxed by Ireland,” he said.

In the lawyer’s conclusion, Apple has paid the taxes due under the Irish tax code.