Apple Ireland Ruling Could Be the End of Easy European Tax Deals

By Alex Webb and Adam Satariano, Bloomberg News

The days when big U.S. technology companies could easily slice tax bills in Europe are coming to an end.

For decades, businesses like Apple Inc. that generate significant revenue abroad flocked to Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, where they counted on amenable fiscal regimes to reduce their tax, even if they had minimal operations on the ground.

On Tuesday, European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager sent the strongest signal yet that she won’t abide by these strategies when she demanded Apple pay $14.5 billion in back taxes.

“Every global company that is exposed ...