Apple went on the offensive against Brussels in an EU court on Tuesday, fighting the European Commission's landmark order that the iPhone-maker reimburse Ireland 13 billion euros ($14 billion) in back taxes. The EU's tax demand, delivered in 2016, "defies reality and common sense," Apple's lawyer Daniel Beard told the EU's lower General Court.
The commission's "conclusion... is wrong," he added. The commission's historic decision was delivered in August 2016 by Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, a shock decision that put Europe at the forefront of an emerging effort to rein in the power of US big tech. Lawyers for the world's biggest company faced EU officials in the Luxembourg court, challenging a decision that CEO Tim Cook slammed at the time as "total political crap".
Ireland, which is similarly appealing against the decision, also testified at the start of two days of hearings, and lashed out at the EU's "astonishing" interpretation of tax law.
"The Commission decision simply ignores Irish laws," Ireland's representative Maurice Collins told judges. The EU accuses Apple of parking untaxed revenue earned in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India in Ireland, which has become a European hub for US-based big tech.
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