Apple, Ireland lose €13bn sweetheart tax deal case in victory for EU's 'tax lady'

Apple has lost a €13 billion case in the EU's highest court regarding the low tax bills it paid for years in Ireland, a surprise victory for Brussels in a campaign against sweetheart deals struck with multinationals.

The judgment, released today (10 September) by the EU Court of Justice, backs the European Commission, which said the corporate tax rates as low as 0.005% paid by the tech giant represented an unlawful subsidy, striking down a previous ruling from the lower-tier General Court.

"Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid which Ireland is required to recover", the Court of Justice said in a statement, giving a "final judgment" in the matter.

It's one of a pair of victories today in Brussels' battle against big tech, as Google lost a separate appeal against a €2.4bn EU fine for favouring its own services — bookending the career of Margrethe Vestager, whose double term as EU antitrust chief ends in a couple of months.

The Commission's victory means Apple must pay as much as €13bn — or potentially more, with interest and costs — to the Irish Treasury.

The Commission's initial finding, now confirmed, came after the LuxLeaks revelations of tax rulings which implicated Jean-Claude Juncker, the former Luxembourg leader who was at the time president of the EU executive. 

Vestager's action against big — and largely American — multinationals such as Starbucks, Fiat Chrysler and Amazon saw her badged by then-President Donald Trump as the EU's "tax lady" who "really hates the USA". 

The case represented an unusual, and controversial, foray by Brussels into tax policy — which is normally set by national capitals, with the EU only intervening if tax breaks distort the bloc's internal market. 

The legal case hinged on how the iPhone maker