BRUSSELS –
Apple on Tuesday lost its last bid to avoid paying 13 billion euros (US$14.34 billion) in back taxes to Ireland, in a finale to a dispute with the European Union that centred on sweetheart deals that Dublin was offering to attract multinational businesses with minimal taxes across the 27-nation bloc. The final decision by the EU’s top court was quickly hailed as a landmark victory over corporate greed.
“Today is a big win for European citizens and for tax justice,” said European antitrust Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, whose eight-year fight to impose the measure on the global tech behemoth brought her to tears when she finally heard she had won.
The ruling “confirms the European Commission’s 2016 decision: Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid which Ireland is required to recover,” the European Court of Justice said in …