The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has issued a final judgement in an eight-year legal case, and ordered Apple to pay the Republic of Ireland an eye-watering €13 billion ($14 billion) in unpaid taxes. In its ruling (via BBC) the ECJ said it "confirms the European Commission’s 2016 decision: Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid which Ireland is required to recover."
The European Commission (EC) first accused Ireland of giving Apple illegal tax breaks in 2016, saying that over the period 1991-2014 all profits generated by two Apple subsidiaries in Ireland were booked creatively for tax purposes. The EC's issue was not with the arrangement itself, but the fact that this arrangement was not available to other companies, therefore creating an unfair advantage for Apple.
