Google and Apple fined billions after losing EU appeal cases

Apple faces €13 billion tax penalty, while Google hit with €2.4 billion fine for market abuse after losing EU appeals.

Apple lost an appeal against a €13 billion ($14.34 billion) tax bill from Ireland, while Google’s challenge to a €2.4 billion ($2.7 billion) fine for market abuse was unsuccessful, as per several media reports. The EU's Court of Justice confirmed that Apple received illegal state aid from Ireland and Google unfairly favored its own services in search results.

The Court of Justice of the European Union's decisions were a key test of Europe's efforts to regulate tech giants.

Apple stated that the decision effectively allows the European Union to impose extra taxes on income that has already been taxed in the US.

“This case has never been about how much tax we pay, but which government we are required to pay it to,” Apple said in a statement on Tuesday. “The European Commission is trying to retroactively change the rules and ignore that, as required by international tax law, our income was already subject to taxes in the U.S.”

Google stated on Tuesday that it was “disappointed” by the ruling. “Our approach has worked successfully for more than seven years, generating billions of clicks for more than 800 comparison shopping services,” Google said in the statement.

These cases marked a significant shift in tech regulation, with the EU emerging as a key global watchdog.