Apple is rejoicing as it won the fight over tax bill with the European Union, Bloomberg reported on July 15.
With this accomplishment, the company will not have to be fined with €13bn (or $14,615,315,000.00) with Ireland in back taxes. The latest court win was from the company's appeal at the second highest court of the EU.
In 2016, Apple received backlash and was questioned by the European Commission over the $4.19 tax bill that it was supposed to give to the Irish government.
Apple wins
The General Court of the European Union has already overturned the case since the Commission has failed to prove that the company broke any rules of the competition. The huge blow happens with the EU since it always wanted to crack down on the tech giant regarding the alleged tax evasion cases.
The European Union will now have the floor to appeal the decision with the highest court in the continent, the European Court of Justice, Bloomberg added.
Apple has released an official statement. It said, "This case was not about how much tax we pay, but where we are required to pay it. We're proud to be the largest taxpayer in the world as we know the important role tax payments play in society."
Now that the losing end is with the EU, Margrethe Vestager of the Competition Commissioner stated she would be studying the decision and think about the next steps.
Looking back, the European Commission took action after it claimed that Ireland allegedly allowed the company to attribute most of its earnings to the Irish head office that was only on paper, thereby grounds for tax evasion upon EU revenues.
This commission was saying it was illegal. The Irish government was with Apple saying that the company did not have any taxes to pay, especially that its loss, because of these finances, would make the country a home turf even for larger companies.
Ireland is the biggest homebase for Apple, with its markets in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.
'No evidence'
During Wednesday's ruling (July 15), the high court sided with the petition and that of Ireland and decided that there was no adequate evidence to provide this judgment for the tech multinational.
Getting back to the losing side, the European Union will be expected to continue its efforts to crack down on illegal avoidance of paying taxes from corporations. However, Vestager has already lost a previous case against Starbucks under a similar concern. That time, the coffee conglomerate is said to owe €30m in back taxes with the Netherlands, the report added.
Meanwhile, rulings over the tax arrangements of Nike and Ikea are also due very soon. This is part of the EU's efforts to crack down on these alleged tax avoiders.
"This will be a very welcome outcome for other multinationals who have been watching this case closely," Jason Collins and head of tax at a law firm pointed out. "Apple's victory shows that European courts are unwilling to call beneficial tax regimes state aid, even when designed to attract foreign investment - provided they apply the rules consistently."
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