Apple Ordered To Pay 13 Billion Euros in Back Taxes to Ireland

Apple is paying 13 billion euros after finally losing an ongoing European Union court case over back taxes owed to Ireland. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) sided with a 2016 decision by the European Commission that Apple unfairly benefited from Irish tax rules and did not pay enough under state aid law.

In a statement, the Irish government said it will comply with the court’s ruling and begin transferring the funds, which are being held in escrow. The government also made a point to say that it “does not give preferential tax treatment to any companies or taxpayers.“

Apple’s response was not so accommodating. The tech giant claimed $577 million in taxes, 12.5% of profits in the country, were paid between 2003 and 2014, which was appropriate per Irish law.

“The European Commission is trying to retroactively change the rules and ignore that, as required by international tax law, our income was already subject to taxes in the U.S.,” Apple said, per Reuters.

The case began 10 years ago when Apple became the subject of an investigation by the European Commission concerning tax payments in Ireland. After a two-year probe, the commission found that Ireland granted illegal tax incentives to the tech giant. According to its report, Apple received preferential tax treatment when compared to Ireland-domiciled companies. As such, the Irish government was ordered to collect 13 billion euros (about $14.5 billion at the time) in back taxes.

After an appeal filing by both Ireland and Apple, the European Union’s general court reversed the commission’s order, ruling there was inadequate proof that Ireland gave special tax benefits to the iPhone maker. Despite the court’s annulment of the case, the commission did not rest and filed an appeal of its own, which put the case in the hands of the ECJ.

The ECJ’s decision comes on the heels of Apple introducing new products, including the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro models. Also revealed at its live “Glowtime” event on Monday were updated AirPods and an Apple Watch Series 10 as well as improvements to its Apple Intelligence software.