Eight years ago, the European Commission charged that Ireland had provided Apple with unlawful tax breaks. However, the Irish government has continuously maintained that the tax does not need to be reimbursed.
“The Court of Justice renders a final ruling in this case and upholds the 2016 ruling of the European Commission: Ireland gave Apple illegal aid, which Ireland must repay,” the court declared.
The announcement was made one day after the tech giant unveiled its new lineup of iPhone 16s.
Following a protracted legal back and forth, the finding indicates that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has finally supported the decision made by the European Commission eight years ago.
The ruling, which concerned the tax treatment of earnings made by two Irish-based Apple subsidiaries, spanned the years 1991 to 2014.
Since other businesses were unable to benefit from the same arrangements, the tax arrangements were declared unlawful.
The Commission was trying to crack down on multinational corporations that it thought were utilizing clever financial strategies to lower their tax obligations when it issued the initial order.
