Apple loses lawsuit, ordered to pay back over $14 billion in taxes.

Just one day after launching its new product line, Apple suffered a major blow when the European Supreme Court ruled that it must pay a record $14.4 billion in taxes for exploiting Ireland's preferential tax policy. This decision ended an eight-year legal battle and marked a major setback for Apple in its fight against tax evasion.

The European Supreme Court's ruling is final and non-appealable. This means Apple is forced to comply and has no chance of overturning the decision. This ruling demonstrates the EU's increasingly tough stance in regulating the activities of large technology corporations.

In its ruling against Apple, the European Supreme Court confirmed that the special tax arrangements Ireland had granted Apple for years were illegal, violating the European Union's (EU) state aid regulations. This means Ireland favored Apple by allowing the company to pay less tax than other companies, creating an unfair competitive advantage.

Accordingly, to minimize its tax obligations, Apple established a complex system in which profits from sales in Europe were channeled through subsidiaries based in Ireland, taking advantage of the country's low corporate tax rate.

In 2016, the European Commission (EC) concluded that Apple's practice was illegal, as it created an unfair competitive advantage. This decision was appealed by both Apple and Ireland.

Although Apple initially won a provisional victory in the lower court, the EC did not give up. The agency decided to appeal to the European Court of Justice and ultimately won.

The European Supreme Court has issued a final ruling, affirming that Apple exploited loopholes in Irish tax law to illegally avoid paying taxes. This decision sets an important precedent, forcing multinational companies to be more transparent in their business operations.

Apple has voiced its opposition to this decision, asserting that the core issue is not the amount of tax the company has to pay, but the right of a multinational corporation to decide where it legally pays its taxes. The company argues that it has always paid its taxes on time and has never received any special treatment. Apple further argues that the EU is attempting to change the rules midway and apply new rules retroactively, disregarding international law, which is completely unfair.

Following the court ruling, the Irish government will transfer the $14.4 billion, which had been held in a special account to ensure the execution of the ruling, into the state budget. The recovery of this money is a significant step in the EU's fight against tax evasion. Countries around the world are cooperating to build a new international tax framework to prevent multinational corporations from exploiting legal loopholes to minimize their tax obligations.