The iPhone maker has just been ordered to reimburse Ireland, due to tax rebates deemed illegal.
It’s a case that goes back almost a decade. At the time, the European Commission asked Apple to repay €13 billion to Ireland, due to tax arrears.
Specifically, the EU accused Ireland of granting too large a tax cut to the American giant. After a long legal battle led by Apple, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) finally ruled, once again against the company, which will have to repay the 13 billion euros.
Even for a giant like Apple, the sum is far from negligible: it represents more than 10% of the company’s annual profits.
Tax treatment in Ireland
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the court of last instance, thus overturned an initial judgment from 2020 that had ruled in favor of Apple. The 13 billion, considered illegal state aid, correspond to the profits from favorable tax treatment between 2003 and 2014 in Ireland, where Apple had repatriated all of its revenues earned in Europe (as well as in Africa, the Middle East and India).
According to the European Commission, Apple’s Irish subsidiary had paid a derisory effective tax rate on its European profits “ranging from 1% in 2003 to 0.005% in 2014”.
“This case was never about the amount of taxes we pay, but about the government to which we are required to pay them. We always pay all the taxes we owe, regardless of where we operate, and there was never any special agreement,” Apple also defended itself on September 10, saying it was also “disappointed” by this decision.
