He Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) This Tuesday forced the multinational Apple has return 13 billion euros to Ireland for having benefited illegal tax assistance in the said country.
The Luxembourg court has finally settled the case, thus ruling in favour of the European Commission, which concluded in 2016 that the multinational had benefited from selective tax treatment between 1991 and 2014 which allowed the American firm pay much less tax than they should: allowed it to pay a corporate tax of 1%, compared to 12.5% which applies to other companies.
The Irish government rejected these conclusions and the EC was forced to present a Legal complaint against Dublin for not having recovered the aforementioned 13 billion euros.
After being fined 13 billion euros by Brussels, the American company Apple has warned that beyond the company, the effect is “deeper and more damaging” will be noticed in investments and job creation in Europe.
Apple CEO, Tim Cook said in an open letter in 2018:that the multinational “respects the law and pays all the taxes it owes.” He also stressed that it does so both in Ireland and in all the countries in which it operates.
Thus, he recalled, since its arrival in Europe 36 years ago with the opening of a head office in Ireland, the company has received advice from the Irish tax authorities to correctly comply with its tax regulations. He considers that its case is the same as that of any other company present in the country.
“Our growth over the years has made us the largest taxpayer in Ireland, the largest taxpayer in the United States and the largest taxpayer in the world,” noted the Apple CEO.
