The person who gives legal advice to the European Court of Justice believes that a decision allowing Apple to avoid paying €13 billion in back taxes should be changed.
This is the latest development in the ongoing disagreement between the European Union, the large US technology company Apple, and the government of Ireland.
Three years ago, a decision that stated Apple had been given unfair tax advantages by the Irish government was canceled. However, Advocate General Giovanni Pitruzzella at the Court of Justice thinks the case should be reconsidered.
He said that several mistakes were made in the legal process, and the decision to support Apple did not properly consider certain errors that affected the tax rulings.
The legal opinion is not the final decision and doesn’t have to be followed, but the court often agrees with these opinions in most cases.
In response to the latest news, an Apple spokesperson said that the original decision, which allowed the company to avoid paying back taxes, clearly stated that Apple did not receive any special treatment or help from the government. They believe this should still be the case.
In 2016, the European Commission ruled that Apple had been given special treatment by the Irish government, letting it pay a much lower amount of tax compared to other companies.
The Commission said this was like giving illegal help to Apple from the Irish government.
The situation became a symbol of the Commission’s efforts to crack down on what it saw as big companies avoiding paying a fair amount of taxes.
The Irish government argued that Apple shouldn’t have to pay back the taxes, saying that the benefits of having large companies in the country outweighed the loss.
Ireland is where Apple operates for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, taking advantage of Ireland’s low corporate tax rates.
Even though tax rates are determined by individual countries and not the EU, the EU argued that Ireland giving Apple very low tax rates was like giving the company an unfair advantage.
Two years ago, a lower court ruled in favor of Apple, saying they didn’t have to pay back taxes, but that decision could now change after the most recent development.
The Irish government want that Apple Pays Taxes in Ireland.
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