Apple and Ireland are in court to appeal the European Commission’s order for the tech giant to give Ireland back £11.5bn (€13bn) in unpaid taxes, which Apple has said “defies reality and common sense.”
The iPhone manufacturer, along with Ireland, is currently in a two-day court appeal in Luxembourg, arguing against the decision which was imposed by the EU’s competition watchdog, Margrethe Vestager in 2016.
She found that the tax Apple paid on its Ireland operations was so low that it amounted to state aid, and the European Commission thus found EU law had been broken when an “artificial” profit arrangement enabled Apple to pay Ireland tax at a rate of less than 1%.
At the time, Apple claimed the fine would have "the most profound and harmful effect on investment and job creation in Europe”.
Apple stated that none of its sold products are manufactured in Ireland, and are thus not taxable. It told the court yesterday that the European Commission had ignored invitations to visit their Irish headquarters which would prove this.
Ireland also doesn’t want Apple to repay the money, arguing that the EU has “interfered with its sovereignty” and stating the Commission’s decision is “fundamentally flawed”.
The country is home to European headquarters of major tech giants such as PayPal, LinkedIn, Google, Microsoft and Facebook, but has been gaining increasing criticism for its apparently lenient corporate tax policies.
Although said policies seemingly make the country an enticing location for tech multinationals, the European Parliament labelled the country as a “tax haven” earlier this year.
Source: LinkedIn Daily Rundown, Telegraph, Irish Times
