The European Union's General Court refuses US government intervention in the Apple appeal the 2016 European Commission ruling, Reuters reports-- the one with the tax bill worth up to €13 billion (plus interest).
The intervention in question was filed in April. It insists EU actions will impact US tax revenues, as well as hurt tax treaties with other EU member states and even affect global tax reform efforts. In turn, the court simply says "The United States of America has failed to establish the existence of a direct interest in the result of the case.”
Since 2003, thanks to a "sweetheart" tax deal with the Irish government, Apple got a low corporate tax rate of just 1%. This was lowered even further to 0.005% in 2014. Such selective tax treatment is deemed illegal under EU state rules, leading to the EC demanding Ireland recovers unpaid taxes for the 2003-2014 period.
So far, Ireland has failed to collect the unpaid taxes-- and in October 2017 the European Commission announced it will take matters to the European Court of Justice, despite backlash from the US and, of course, Apple itself. Also getting raked over the coals is Luxembourg, who gave illegal tax benefits to Amazon for over a decade.
Go EU Court Rejects US Intervention in Apple's Irish Tax Case
