LONDON (AP) 鈥 Apple might end up on the hook after all for billions of euros in back taxes to Ireland in the latest twist in a longrunning European Union dispute, following a legal opinion Thursday from an adviser to the bloc's top court.
A lower court's decision that the U.S. tech giant doesn't have to repay the 13 billion euros ($13.9 billion) in taxes 鈥渟hould be set aside," Advocate General Giovanni Pitruzzella told the European Court of Justice, according to a his opinion.
The case drew outrage from Apple when it was , with CEO Tim Cook calling it 鈥渢otal political crap.鈥 Then-U.S. President Donald Trump slammed European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who spearheaded the campaign to root out special tax deals and crack down on big U.S. tech companies, as the 鈥渢ax lady鈥 who 鈥渞eally hates the U.S.鈥
In its , the European Union's General Court disagreed with the European Commission, the bloc's executive branch, which had accused Apple of striking an illegal tax deal with Irish authorities so that it could pay extremely low rates.
Pitruzzella advised the European Court of Justice that it should 鈥渟et aside the judgment and refer the case back to the General Court for a new decision on the merits.鈥
The General Court 鈥渃ommitted a series of errors in law鈥 and that it needs to 鈥渃arry out a new assessment," the press release said.
The ECJ's opinions aren鈥檛 legally binding, but are often followed by the court. The Court of Justice is expected to come up with its legally binding decision next year.
鈥淲e thank the court for its time and ongoing consideration in this case," Apple said in a prepared statement. "The General Court鈥檚 ruling was very clear that Apple received no selective advantage and no State aid, and we believe that should be upheld.鈥
The European Commission declined to comment. Its tech crackdown has since expanded to include antitrust investigations into Apple's and as well as stricter scrutiny under new digital rules aimed at making .
