Apple must pay €13 billion in back taxes after losing final appeal

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Apple has suffered a significant defeat after the EU’s top court ruled that the iPhone maker must pay 13 billion euros in back taxes, overturning an earlier decision in the Big Tech group’s favor.

The ruling relates to a 2016 case when the EU’s competition chief Margrethe Vestager said that Ireland had given the company an illegal sweetheart deal, amounting to a tax rate of less than 1 percent.

The European Court of Justice said on Tuesday in its final ruling that it “confirms the European Commission’s 2016 decision: Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid which Ireland is required to recover.”