Apple victory would do nothing to discipline giant over tax deal

Apple and the European Commission have been engaged in a decade-long battle over a €14.3 billion (£12.2 billion) tax bill that Brussels claims the US technology giant owes Ireland. Margrethe Vestager, the commission’s vice-president, staked her reputation on the idea that the EU would force multinationals to pay their “fair share of taxes” in Europe. Yet that campaign has so far been unsuccessful. The battle with Apple is the last outstanding case, as well as the biggest.