‘Watershed moment’ and a ‘reputational headache’ for Ireland: How global media reported on Apple tax ruling

The European Court of Justice’s decision that the European Commission had been correct in determining eight years ago that Apple owed Ireland €13 billion, plus interest, in back taxes was widely reported, with the tech giant saying it expected to take a €9 billion charge as a result of the ruling. Global reporting on this case ranged from praising the EU and competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager, to questioning what it means for Europe, and Ireland, as a destination for business in the future.
Apple must pay €13bn in back taxes, top EU court rules
The ECJ’s ruling was a “significant defeat” for Apple, according to the Financial Times, with the ruling likely to be a “watershed moment” for how multinationals manage their tax affairs in the EU and for member states more generally. The European Commission had successfully used competition law and state aid rules to override member states’ domestic tax rules – something that has historically been a competence managed by each country individually, it said.
[ Apple to take up to €9.1bn charge on Irish tax case after ECJ rulingOpens in new window ]
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While the FT focused on Apple’s defeat, The New York Times described the ruling as a “big victory” for the EU “in its years long campaign to regulate the technology industry.” The ruling, combined with a separate case involving Google, were an important test of the EU’s efforts to crack down on big multinationals and their tax affairs, the newspaper said. “Regulators determined that Apple had struck illegal deals with the Irish Government that allowed the company to pay virtually nothing in taxes on its European business in some years,” it said.
Apple, Google defeats to fuel EU’s crackdown on Big Tech
As well as covering the initial news of the ruling, Bloomberg focused on the wider ramifications of the ECJ’s decision. The commission’s vindication by the bloc’s highest court “could signal a raft of further cases,” the business news outlet said, quoting competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager’s comments that “we’re only at the beginning” of the EU’s efforts to crack down on big companies. While Vestager, who led the case against Apple, is set to step down as a commissioner shortly, there is little doubt that the EU will continue to pursue a similar line given the commission is now set on building up European champion companies to compete with US and Chinese competitors, it said.
[ We should be embarrassed about the Apple ruling but not for the reasons you thinkOpens in new window ]
Apple tax bonanza hands Ireland political, reputational headache
Reuters assessed the fallout for the Government from the decision, pointing out that while it means a tax bonanza for the country, it also creates a political and reputational headache. Foreign multinationals, attracted in large part due to low tax rates, make up around 11 per cent of the entire labour market in Ireland – twice the workforce they had when the Apple controversy broke in 2013, reporters Padraic Halpin and Conor Humphries wrote. Still, they highlighted that the Government now faced pointed calls from Opposition parties to spend the money even as it assessed what impact the ECJ’s decision would have on Ireland’s attractiveness to foreign direct investment in the future.
Apple must pay €13 billion in back taxes: An EU victory?
French newspaper Le Monde praised Ms Vestager for doggedly pursuing big companies on their tax affairs. She “waged a relentless battle against tax evasion by multinationals who profited handsomely from the accommodating tax regimes of Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland,” it said. “Regardless of the fact that tax policy falls within national jurisdiction, the ‘tax lady,’ as she was scornfully renamed by US president Donald Trump, opened many investigations, judging that illegal state aid had been given,” the newspaper said. Pointedly, this case had found that Ireland has “reinterpreted Irish law and adapted its tax laws to attract multinationals.”
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In an editorial, the Journal tied the court’s decisions on Apple and Google cases to the much heralded report on EU competitiveness compiled by for European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi that was published on Monday. While praising the Draghi report it said that the rulings showed “Europe’s political class proved it cares more about punishing America’s success than about emulating it. Witness Tuesday’s ruling from the European Court of Justice blessing Brussels’s move to impose €13 billion in extra taxation on Apple and levy a €2.42 billion antitrust fine on Google.”