Financial Times – Apple suffers setback in top EU court over €14.3bn Irish back taxes dispute 

The Financial Times says Apple has been “dealt a blow” at the European Court of Justice in a dispute with Brussels over €14.3bn (£12.5bn) worth of back taxes. 

The paper reports that Giovanni Pitruzzella, advocate general of the court, said in a non-binding opinion on Thursday that an earlier decision quashing the EU’s order that Apple pay the tax to Ireland “should be set aside”. 

The Irish government, which deliberately keeps corporation tax low to attract investment, has insisted that Apple has paid the correct amount of tax, but the European Commission says the company’s tax arrangements give it an effective rate of less than 1% and an unfair advantage over rival companies.