The European Court has upheld the legality of multibillion-euro fines against tech giants Apple and Google, reinforcing the EU's stance against monopolies.
The Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg ruled against Apple and Google regarding tax benefits and market dominance abuse cases. The court supported previous decisions made by the European Commission, which stated that Apple must pay €13 billion in taxes to Ireland, while Google faces a €2.4 billion fine for violating antitrust laws.
These rulings represent a significant victory for Margrethe Vestager, the EU Commissioner for Competition. She has targeted Apple and Google as the primary focus of her campaign for tax fairness and fair competition since 2014. Vestager has argued that selective tax benefits for large companies constitute illegal state aid, which is prohibited within the EU.
Today is a huge win for European citizens and tax justice.
👉In its final judgment, @EUCourtPress confirms @EU_Commission 2016 decision: Ireland granted illegal aid to @Apple.
Ireland now has to release up to 13 billion euros of unpaid taxes.
— Margrethe Vestager (@vestager) September 10, 2024
Representatives from Apple expressed disappointment with the court's decision, recalling that a lower court had previously overturned this ruling. Today, the company's stock fell by 1.3% during pre-market trading in New York. Google also expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling, noting that their 2017 proposal to resolve EU issues helped increase clicks for other trading services.
The case against Apple began in 2016 when the EU ordered Ireland to collect €13 billion in unpaid taxes. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook referred to this decision at that time as "complete political nonsense." The case against Google started in 2017 with a fine for abusing its dominant position in search to promote its own products.
These court decisions could have far-reaching implications for the regulation of the tech industry. They support the new EU Digital Markets Act, which came into effect last year. This law establishes rules for large tech companies, particularly prohibiting them from favoring their own services over those of competitors.
Source: Bloomberg
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