What light does the European Commission’s much anticipated 130-page decision, published Monday, 19 December 2016, shed on the Commission’s case and the parties’ prospects for appeal?
In the second of a series of short blogs on the Apple case, here’s a quick-look review and comment on the Commission’s decision.
We know now that the Commission’s case is based on two alternate “lines of reasoning” – what the Irish side calls “grossly divergent factual scenarios.” Confirmed also in the published version of the decision is the critical importance of a novel “arm’s length principle” to the Commission’s case.
A Quick Re-Cap
On 30 August 2016, the Commission announced a decision finding that Ireland gave Apple Inc. “up to” €13 billion in State aid by allowing two Apple subsidiaries (Irish registered but non-resident companies, Apple Sales International (ASI) and Apple Operations Europe (AOE)) to determine their corporation tax liabilities in Ireland by applying profit allocation methods, allocating profit between their Irish branches and non-Irish entities, that breached of EU State aid law.
Read the full article here: Apple Case Update