Apple on Tuesday (September 10) lost its fight against an order by EU competition regulators to pay 13 billion euros in back taxes to Ireland as part of an EU crackdown against sweetheart deals between EU countries and multinationals.

The European Commission issued the order in 2016, saying that the iPhone maker benefited from two Irish tax rulings for over two decades that artificially reduced its tax burden to as low as 0.005% in 2014.

The European Union will continue its work against harmful tax competition and aggressive tax planning by EU countries and multinationals via legislative proposals and enforcement, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said.

“Our investigations have decisively contributed to a mind shift, a change of attitude among member states. They have helped to trigger and accelerate regulatory and legislative reform,” Vestager told a press conference.

(Reuters)