The EU Commission intends to appeal a decision that said Apple does not have to repay €13 billion in taxes, the latest turn in a long-running dispute. “The Commission has decided to appeal before the European Court of Justice the General Court’s judgment of July 2020 on the Apple State aid case in Ireland, which annulled the Commission’s decision of August 2016 finding that Ireland granted illegal State aid to Apple through selective tax breaks,” European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said in a statement on Friday.
Apple Says EU Appeal ‘Will Not Alter The Factual Conclusions’ of Previous Ruling
“The General Court judgment raises important legal issues that are of relevance to the Commission in its application of State aid rules to tax planning cases. The Commission also respectfully considers that in its judgment the General Court has made a number of errors of law. For this reason, the Commission is bringing this matter before the European Court of Justice,” Ms. Vestager said. “Making sure that all companies, big and small, pay their fair share of tax remains a top priority for the Commission.”
Apple has always insisted it pays whatever tax it owes. It said that an appeal “will not alter the factual conclusions of the General Court, which prove that we have always abided by the law in Ireland, as we do everywhere we operate,” the Associated Press reported. The Irish government, similarly, has always been clear it did not offer Apple illegal state aid.