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Apple wins case against the European Commission and will no longer pay the record fine of 13 billion euros

The General Court of the European Union has ruled that Apple will not have to pay the € 13 billion fine imposed by the European Commission in 2016.

The judges point out that Brussels has failed to demonstrate the legal requirements necessary to prove that the tax benefits provided by Apple by the Irish government were in violation of European Union laws, advances RT.

The European Commission will appeal the Court's decision. In an international press release, Apple says it is satisfied with the decision. This case was not so much about how much we pay taxes, but where we have to pay them, says the tech giant, adding that, in all, it has already paid more than 100 billion in taxes worldwide in the past 10 years in addition to tens of millions in other fees.

It is recalled that, in September 2019, Apple was heard by the current European Commission executive vice president Margrethe Vestagea about 13 billion euros due to overdue taxes. The company was fined three years earlier for negotiating fees with Ireland, allowing it to pay less than other companies in the sector.

The case goes back to 2014, when Margrethe Vestagera affirmed that the tax benefits provided by Apple by the Irish government were in clear violation of European Union laws. At the time, the Commission said that the special relationship allowed Apple to pay only 0.005% of taxes on profits for 2014, enjoying a substantially lower tax rate under European law.

Thus, Apple would have to repay the Irish Government the taxes it paid between 2003 and 2014, risking further penalization. APpple refused to pay the amount, appealing that the European Commission's arguments were based on "fundamental errors". However, at the end of 2017, the company started to pay Ireland's debt, having deposited a deposit of 1.5 billion euros, after having agreed a payment plan with the European Union.