In a major decision, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Tuesday against Apple in its ten-year legal dispute over a $14.4 tax debt in Ireland.
The IT giant, which has been battling the European Commission’s 2016 order for Dublin to recover unpaid taxes from the firm, has suffered a significant blow as a result of the European Court of Justice’s ruling.
In the beginning, the Commission charged Apple with obtaining “illegal” tax breaks from Ireland over a period of twenty years.
The Commission intensified the matter after Apple and the Irish government prevailed in their 2020 appeal, which resulted in the most recent decision.
The ruling highlights the persistent conflicts between US IT companies and the European Union, which keeps putting pressure on Washington to enact stricter laws pertaining to taxation and antitrust.