Apple wins fight against $15 billion tax order, even as EU prepares itself for fresh salvo

BRUSSELS: A European court on Wednesday annulled an EU order that Apple repay Ireland Rs 13 billion euros ($15 billion) in back taxes, in a major legal setback for Brussels.

The commission’s historic ruling against Apple was delivered in August 2016 by Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in a shock decision that put Europe on the map as a scourge of Silicon Valley. The iPhone-maker and Ireland had appealed the order, which Apple CEO Tim Cook slammed at the time as “total political crap”.