The European Court of Justice (ECJ) rule on Tuesday that Google had violated antitrust laws and that Apple needed to pay the European Union €13 billion ($14.3 billion) in back taxes. Both cases are seen as an effort by Brussels to close tax loopholes exploited by the US tech giants.

The case against Google dates back to 2017, when the EU accused Google of prioritizing its own Google Shopping links in searches. The bloc has argued this violates its antitrust regulations.

Google was fined €2.4 billion, but had appealed to the ECJ, which has now upheld the fine.

Apple’s long bitter feud with the EU

Europe’s case against Apple began in 2016, over allegations it received a sweetheart tax deal with authorities in Ireland, the location of the company’s European headquarters.

The EU has long demanded that Apple pay back billions of taxes for two Irish subsidies that the company argues are primarily taxable in the United States. Arguing that they were being subjected to double taxation, and that the situation did not preclude state aid from Dublin, Apple initially won a ruling against the European Commission to annul the payment order.

The Commission first appealed that decision in 2020, prompting four more years of legal wrangling before today’s ECJ verdict in their favor.

es/kb (AFP, dpa)