Today, the European Court of Justice ruled that Ireland illegally provided state aid to Apple through a tax deal which upholds the European Commission’s 2016 decision. As a result, Apple must now pay back €13 billion in unpaid taxes.
In response, Jim Clarken, CEO of Oxfam Ireland said:
“This ruling delivers long-overdue justice after over a decade of Ireland standing by and allowing Apple to dodge taxes.
“While this ruling will force the tech giant to pay its debt, the root of the issue is far from solved. Facilitating tax evasion on the scale that Ireland continues to do so, is not a victimless crime. Two UN bodies have stated that Ireland’s corporate tax policies may negatively impact the human rights of people around the world. They have recommended concrete measures that Ireland needs to take to fulfil its obligations under international human rights law.
“This ruling must not stand alone as a single victory - it needs to compel Ireland to support international efforts to close all loopholes that allow corporations to avoid paying their fair share of tax. It is time they end this draining of other governments’ coffers and put that revenue into fighting the climate crisis and building hospitals, schools and other services for people. Ireland recently voted against an important multilateral process at the UN- the UN Convention on International Tax. Ireland plays an important role as a champion of multilateralism and it needs to stand by this principle in fact as well as in theory."
In 2016, the European Commission ruled that a tax arrangement between Apple and Ireland from 2003 to 2014 gave Apple an unfair advantage to unjustifiably reduce its tax bill. This arrangement allowed Apple to pay only 0.005 percent of its annual profit in taxes. As a result, the Commission ordered Apple to pay €13 billion in unpaid taxes to Ireland, plus interest.
Apple challenged the Commission in court, with the General Court (lowest court) initially overturning the Commission’s decision.
The Commission appealed the decision and in November 2023, the Advocate General recommended setting aside the General Court’s judgement and suggested a new decision. His opinion is not binding.
Ireland is planning reforms to circumvent the EU minimum tax, changing the way companies can claim relief under certain credit programs that are not subject to the minimum tax. During negotiations at the OECD and EU level, Oxfam advocated to remove any exemptions.
“This ruling delivers long-overdue justice after over a decade of Ireland standing by and allowing Apple to dodge taxes.
