European antitrust regulators are asking online retailers if they are contractually obligated to use Apple Pay over rival services.
The European Commission suggests it has information that Apple could have restricted online payments for goods and services using rival payment solutions. This would be in breach of EU antitrust rules.
Apple Pay, the iPhone’s built-in payment system, is reportedly in the sights of EU investigators. They are looking into whether Apple is giving its system an unfair advantage over competitors.
Apple has received a glimpse of hope in its giant $14.4 billion tax battle against the EU. On Tuesday, the European Commission’s similar tax case against Starbucks collapsed. The EC claimed that Starbucks had received an unfair sweetheart tax deal in the Netherlands. The European Commission’s General Court overturned this earlier 2015 decision.
But another case against Fiat Chrysler concluded with the European court saying that it had enjoyed preferential tax treatment in Luxembourg.
Apple says that the European Commission doesn’t understand its business — and places way too much emphasis on the importance of its Irish divisions.
The accusation was made on the second day of Apple’s court hearing to appeal its $14.4 billion tax bill.
Is Apple using its control of the App Store to squeeze out rivals? That’s the question European competition regulators are looking into.
This news comes after Spotify complained that it is nti-competitive that this company is required to give Apple a big share of subscription fees paid through the App Store.
Tim Cook has admitted that Apple Pay hasn’t taken off quite as quickly as he would like. But that’s not stopping the European Commission from threatening that Apple’s mobile payments service could face challenges if it gets much more dominant.
Speaking this week, European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said that, while at “first glance, we couldn’t see Apple being dominant,” it will face ongoing scrutiny regarding Apple Pay.
The European Commission has decided that it won’t sue Ireland over delays in recovering a 13.1 billion euro ($15 billion) disputed tax bill from Apple.
The European Court of Justice action against Ireland was initiated in October 2017 after the country failed to get Apple to pay up one year after the European Union handed Apple the massive tax bill.
Google is being forced to start charging Android device makers a fee to use the software that previously came free with this operating system. It’s possible device makers will pass this cost along to phone buyers.
This only applies in Europe, though, as it’s a result of the EU ruling that Google used anti-competitive business practices. The company was also fined about $5 billion.
Apple has its Lightning connector and everyone else has USB. But EU regulators are considering whether they need to force a common standard for phone chargers.
The idea is to cut down on the 51,000 tons of old chargers and cables thrown away each year.
Yesterday, the EU announced a massive $5 billion fine for Google due to its strategy of pushing Google search on Android devices.
However, according to a new op-ed published by Bloomberg, Apple deserves a big fine of its own. Here’s the argument behind that statement.
Update: The European Commission has confirmed the fine, while also ordering Google make changes to rectify the problem.
Google is bracing itself to be hit with a 4.3 billion euro ($5 billion) fine as a result of its Android operating system strategy, the BBC reports.
The European Commission’s action will mark the conclusion of a three-year investigation into Android’s strategy, which unfairly strengths Google’s dominance as a search engine. The fine will be formally announced later today.
Apple has transferred the first 1.5 billion euro ($1.18 billion) installment of its $16 billion fine ordered by the European Union, reflecting back taxes the company supposedly hasn’t paid.
The payment was confirmed today by Ireland’s Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe. In response to Apple paying up, EU authorities are reportedly open to dropping a lawsuit against Ireland for failing to do more to chase Apple’s debt.
Apple’s acquisition of Shazam is now under investigation by antitrust regulators in Europe.
The European Commission is concerned that the deal will give Apple an unfair advantage in stealing users from its rivals. It has promised to provide a decision by September 4.
The European Commission wants tech giants like Apple and other “digital businesses” to pay their fair share of taxes, and it’s announced new proposals to help implement this.
As previously suggested by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, the proposed rules mean that companies would have to pay taxes throughout the EU, and not just in the location of the European headquarters.
Apple has formerly requested approval for its Shazam acquisition from the European Commission.
EU antitrust regulators confirmed last month that they had launched an investigation into the deal following concerns from seven European countries. Apple will get a decision next month, but it may not be final.
After dragging its feet over collecting its giant 13 billion euros ($15.5 billion) tax bill from Apple, Ireland’s Department of Finance has revealed that an agreement has been reached with Apple over when the sum will actually be paid.
The giant tax haul, which Apple was ordered to pay by the European Commission over a year ago, will be transferred to an escrow account, which will manage the funds until all of Apple’s appeals have been heard. But not until 2018!
In the latest instalment of Apple’s battles with the European Union over taxes, Ireland is set to miss a deadline to hire managers to cary out the collection of its owed taxes.
The Irish debt office previously said that it would hire custodians and investment managers for the estimated $15.3 billion tax bill it was awarded by mid-November. However, Ireland — which has fought against collecting the funds from Apple — hasn’t handed out the contracts as it said it would in tender documents.
The European Commission is continuing its battle with Silicon Valley tech giants by taking Ireland to court, demanding that it reclaim a $17.6 billion tax payment it is owed by Apple.
In addition, it is demanding that Amazon pay it 250 million euros ($294 million) on the grounds that is has enjoyed an illegal “sweetheart deal” in Luxembourg.
Ireland could receive an official rebuke from European Union authorities this week for failing to collect the $17.6 billion tax payment it is owed by Apple.
Apple was supposed to pay the money way back on January 3, but Ireland has continued to battle against the case — with the majority of the country saying it doesn’t want Apple’s money. As a result, the European Commission may issue a so-called “non-compliance action” against Ireland.
Future iPhones and MacBooks will be more robust and easier to repair if the European Commission has its way.
Parliament is pushing for gadget makers like Apple to prolong the lifespan of their products by eliminating planned obsolescence and making it easier for consumers to repair and upgrade their devices.
The U.S. government may intervene as Apple appeals its massive 13 billion euro ($14.52 billion) tax bill from the European Union.
The demand for money was made last year, after the E.U. ruled that Apple has taken advantage of illegal state aid in routing its profits through Ireland. It seems that the U.S. government doesn’t see entirely eye-to-eye with Europe, though.
Google has been fined 2.4 billion euros ($2.7 billion) by European Union regulators for reportedly skewing its search results in a way that hurts smaller shopping search services.
In addition to the massive fine, Google has been told that if it doesn’t stop its “illegal” suppression of rival price comparison services within 90 days, the European Commission will fine it up to 5 percent of its daily revenue.
Apple has filed a defense against its massive European Commission tax bill, arguing that it shouldn’t have to pay its $14 billion tax bill, and that the request should be either totally or partially annulled.
The argument, essentially, is a 14-point extension of Tim Cook’s previous assertion that existing tax codes are designed for an industrial, rather than a digital age.
Apple asserts that the European Commission misunderstands Apple’s business dealings, and says the reason it shouldn’t have to pay massive taxes in Ireland is because the actual profit-driving work Apple does is carried out elsewhere.
Undeterred by its massive tax bill from the European Commission, Apple has confirmed it is shifting its international iTunes business from Luxembourg to Ireland.
The move, which will take place on February 5, was announced in an email to developers today. However, Apple started planning for it last September when it transferred all developer accounts and around $9 billion in assets from Luxembourg to Ireland.
Apple’s massive tax bill from the European Commission is tantamount to an ill-advised “land grab” and could be reversed in court, claims Feargal O’Rourke, the man who heads up the tax practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Ireland.
Speaking at the Irish Times corporation tax summit in Dublin, O’Rourke said he is confident the Commission’s decision will be overturned by the European Court of Justice.