EU battles in court to overturn Apple tax bill ruling / Photo: Lionel BONAVENTURE - AFP/File
-
M23 militia says to pull out of key DR Congo city at US's request
-
Thousands of glaciers to melt each year by mid-century: study
-
China to impose anti-dumping duties on EU pork for five years
-
Nepal starts tiger census to track recovery
-
Economic losses from natural disasters down by a third in 2025: Swiss Re
-
Indonesians reeling from flood devastation plea for global help
-
Timeline: How the Bondi Beach mass shooting unfolded
-
On the campaign trail in a tug-of-war Myanmar town
-
Bondi Beach suspect visited Philippines on Indian passport
-
Kenyan girls still afflicted by genital mutilation years after ban
-
Djokovic to warm up for Australian Open in Adelaide
-
Man bailed for fire protest on track at Hong Kong's richest horse race
-
Men's ATP tennis to apply extreme heat rule from 2026
-
10-year-old girl, Holocaust survivors among Bondi Beach dead
-
Steelers edge towards NFL playoffs as Dolphins eliminated
-
Australian PM says 'Islamic State ideology' drove Bondi Beach gunmen
-
Canada plow-maker can't clear path through Trump tariffs
-
Bank of Japan expected to hike rates to 30-year high
-
Cunningham leads Pistons past Celtics
-
Stokes tells England to 'show a bit of dog' in must-win Adelaide Test
-
EU to unveil plan to tackle housing crisis
-
EU set to scrap 2035 combustion-engine ban in car industry boost
-
Australian PM visits Bondi Beach hero in hospital
-
'Easiest scam in the world': Musicians sound alarm over AI impersonators
-
'Waiting to die': the dirty business of recycling in Vietnam
-
Asian markets retreat ahead of US jobs as tech worries weigh
-
Famed Jerusalem stone still sells despite West Bank economic woes
-
Trump sues BBC for $10 billion over documentary speech edit
-
Chile follows Latin American neighbors in lurching right
-
Will OpenAI be the next tech giant or next Netscape?
-
Khawaja left out as Australia's Cummins, Lyon back for 3rd Ashes Test
-
Australia PM says 'Islamic State ideology' drove Bondi Beach shooters
-
Scheffler wins fourth straight PGA Tour Player of the Year
-
New APAC Partnership with Matter Brings Market Logic Software's Always-On Insights Solutions to Local Brand and Experience Leaders
-
Security beefed up for Ashes Test after Bondi shooting
-
Wembanyama blocking Knicks path in NBA Cup final
-
Amorim seeks clinical Man Utd after 'crazy' Bournemouth clash
-
Man Utd blow lead three times in 4-4 Bournemouth thriller
-
Stokes calls on England to 'show a bit of dog' in must-win Adelaide Test
-
Trump 'considering' push to reclassify marijuana as less dangerous
-
Chiefs coach Reid backing Mahomes recovery after knee injury
-
Trump says Ukraine deal close, Europe proposes peace force
-
French minister urges angry farmers to trust cow culls, vaccines
-
Angelina Jolie reveals mastectomy scars in Time France magazine
-
Paris Olympics, Paralympics 'net cost' drops to 2.8bn euros: think tank
-
Chile president-elect dials down right-wing rhetoric, vows unity
-
Five Rob Reiner films that rocked, romanced and riveted
-
Rob Reiner: Hollywood giant and political activist
-
Observers say Honduran election fair, but urge faster count
-
Europe proposes Ukraine peace force as Zelensky hails 'real progress' with US
NYSE - LSE
EU battles in court to overturn Apple tax bill ruling
Apple and Brussels butted heads in a top EU court on Tuesday as the bloc battled to overturn a ruling against its whopping 13-billion euro order on the iPhone-maker to pay Ireland in back taxes.
The landmark case remains one of the most bitter between the European Commission and a big tech firm, dating back to 2016 when the EU's executive arm accused Ireland of allowing Apple to escape 13 billion euros ($14 billion) in taxes between 2003 and 2014.
The EU alleged that Apple parked untaxed revenue earned in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India in Ireland, which is a European hub for US-based big tech.
Brussels claims this amounted to illegal "state aid" by Ireland.
On Tuesday, the bloc's highest court heard the commission's appeal against a 2020 decision by the EU's lower General Court to annul its order that Apple repay the money.
The commission's lawyer, Paul-John Loewenthal, told the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that there had been a "breach of procedure" and "numerous other legal errors" when the lower court heard the case.
He also said the "tax breaks" resulted in Apple's Irish subsidiary "paying an effective tax rate on its European profits starting at one percent in 2003 down to 0.005 percent in 2014".
"Tax breaks which Apple itself described (to the US Senate) as investment incentives amounting to state aid," Loewenthal said.
Apple's lawyer Daniel Beard pushed back against Loewenthal's claims.
"Apple has paid the taxes that were due under the Irish tax code," Beard said.
"Taking quotes to the US Senate completely out of context doesn't change that."
The lawyer dismissed Brussels' accusations of illegal support from Ireland, insisting "there was no special treatment, there was no state aid".
Apple has been present in Ireland since the 1980s and employs more than 6,000 people in Cork, the country's second-largest city.
The ECJ's top legal advisor will issue an opinion on November 9, with a final ruling expected a few months later by judges that are not bound by the advice.
The EU has faced difficulty justifying its tax decisions in recent years with previous court losses against Amazon and Starbucks.
P.Serra--PC
