Apple €13bn tax appeal hearing next month

By Stephanie Bodoni and Peter Flanagan

Apple’s and the Government’s €13bn battle with the EU reaches the European courts next month at the start of a process set to throw light on Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager’s crackdown on tax deals doled out to big companies.

The EU’s General Court, its second-highest tribunal, will hear arguments from the iPhone maker and Ireland over two days set for September 17-18. The commission three years ago ordered Ireland to recoup the record sum plus interest, saying Apple was handed a sweetheart tax deal. Government officials in recent months have said the full legal appeals process could last for a decade

Appeals over tax cases have been piling up since 2015, when the commission issued orders against Luxembourg and the Netherlands to recoup unpaid taxes from Fiat Chrysler and Starbucks. Ms Vestager received a setback in February when Belgium won a bid to overturn an order to recoup about €800m from 35 companies, including brewing giant Anheuser-Busch.

Bloomberg. Additional reporting Irish Examiner