Europe's competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, who has made tax avoidance a central focus, said that "Apple's illegal deals with the Irish government allowed the technology giant to pay virtually nothing on its European business in some years." It is alleged that Apple "paid only 50 euros in taxes for every million euros in profit during 2014." The European Union is demanding that Ireland "recoup 10 years' worth of back taxes, some 13 billion euros, or about $14.5 billion, plus interest."

Naturally, both Apple and Ireland are unhappy with the order and have said that they plan to appeal the decision. Timothy Cook, Apple's CEO, said that Europe's ruling had "no basis in fact or in law," and called it an effort to "rewrite Apple's history in Europe, ignore Ireland's tax laws, and upend the international tax system in the process." The Finance Ministry of Ireland maintained that taxes were a "fundamental matter of sovereignty" and that "the commission's decision would undermine a continuing global tax overhaul and create business uncertainty."