In 2016, Ms. Vestager ordered Ireland to reclaim 13 billion euros in back taxes, or about $15.5 billion, saying that the company had illegally received a tax break that was not available to others. Apple has begun paying the money into an escrow account, but both the company and Ireland have appealed the decision. Critics also accuse her of grandstanding, and of displaying bias against American companies. Last June, Ms. Vestager fined Google €2.4 billion, or about $2.8 billion, after concluding that it had unfairly used its search engine to favor its services over those of its rivals. As the top European official enforcing competition laws, Ms. Vestager has primarily concentrated on how a range of companies use, or abuse, their market dominance.

Source: New York Times May 05, 2018 06:56 UTC