Published 11 September 2024 at 14:31
EU. IT giant Apple has been ordered by the European Court of Justice to repay 13 billion euros in unpaid taxes to Ireland. Google is also sentenced in a separate case where a fine of 2.4 billion euros is determined, because Google has abused its market dominance.
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Apple was accused of having received undue tax advantages in Ireland, which meant the company paid less than one percent in tax.
In 2020, a lower court overturned the European Commission's decision to up-tax the company in 2016, but now the European Court of Justice has reversed it decision and followed the Commission's line.
Google was convicted in 2017 for favoring its own productcomparison service over that of competitors, something that was considered to harm competition in the internal market.
Margrethe Vestager, EU 's competition commissioner and responsible for both cases, called the judges a victory for fair and equal taxation in Europe.
She also said that she was actually surprised by the court's decision, explaining that these judgments give the Commission unexpected support for to continue its work against illegal state aid and aggressive tax planning.
Vestager also emphasized that this is an important step towards creating fair conditions for companies within the EU.