The Court of Justice of the European Union issued a ruling confirming the European Commission’s decision in 2016, stating that Apple had avoided taxes in Ireland from 1991 to 2014, totaling 13 billion euros. This marks the highest ruling, leading Ireland to reclaim the unpaid taxes from Apple.
Fast forward to 2020, after Apple contested the assertion that tax avoidance was exaggerated, the General Court of the EU overturned the decision, citing insufficient evidence that Ireland granted special tax benefits to Apple. As a result, Apple was not required to pay this tax but faced a legal challenge to the highest level.
The Irish government responded to this verdict, emphasizing that it pertained to events from the past and that Ireland never provided tax benefits to any company. Apple’s representatives stated that this case was not about evading taxes but about fulfilling tax obligations to the respective government. The EU’s action involved retroactively enforcing taxes on Apple to be paid to the US.
Apple announced that they would record this tax expense as a one-time special item of approximately $14 billion in their current quarter financials ending in September.
Source: CNBC
TLDR: The EU upheld a ruling that Apple avoided taxes in Ireland, but a subsequent court decision overturned it due to lack of clear evidence of special tax benefits granted to the tech giant. Apple will record the tax expense in their financials for the current quarter.
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