European Commission To Appeal Decision To Annul $15Bln Tax Demand For Apple

The European Commission will appeal the European General Court ruling to annul its decision to demand tech giant Apple pay Ireland up to 13 billion euros ($15 billion) in taxes

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th September, 2020) The European Commission will appeal the European General Court ruling to annul its decision to demand tech giant Apple pay Ireland up to 13 billion Euros ($15 billion) in taxes.

"The Commission has decided to appeal before the European Court of Justice the General Court's judgment of July 2020 on the Apple State aid case in Ireland, which annulled the Commission's decision of August 2016 finding that Ireland granted illegal State aid to Apple through selective tax breaks," the Commission said in a statement Friday.

An EU investigation found in 2016 that member-state Ireland was owed upwards of 13 billion euros for services provided to the US tech company between 2003 and 2014. The General Court annulled the decision earlier this year.

Ireland's favorable tax policy and geographical position have made it attractive for US tech giants. Google, Facebook and Apple are among a slew of tech firms that have based their European headquarters on the island nation.