Irish government responds to Apple tax ruling as a historical matter

The CJEU ruled that Apple’s tax contributions were deficient and mandated that Ireland recover the additional tax amounts to level the competitive playing field within the EU.
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The Irish government responded to a European court ruling on Tuesday that found it had granted Apple unlawful tax benefits, stating the issue is now ‘of historical relevance’ due to changes in its tax system. The ruling stems from a 2016 European Commission order requiring Ireland to recover 13.8 billion euros from Apple, which had benefited from Irish tax rulings that reduced its tax rate to as low as 0.005% in 2014.

Ireland has consistently contested the order, asserting it does not offer preferential tax treatment to companies. However, the Court of Justice of the European Union upheld the decision, confirming that Apple paid insufficient taxes and that more needed to be recovered.

Since the 2016 ruling, Ireland has significantly reformed its corporate tax laws, aligning with international agreements and addressing corporate residence and profit attribution for non-resident companies operating in the country. The government will now begin releasing funds from the escrow account holding the recovered amount.