Apple plans to appeal a ruling by the European Commission ordering it repay a record 19 billion dollars in back taxes.
The European Commission has found Ireland enabled the company to pay substantially less tax than other businesses in what amounted to an illegal arrangement.
After a three-year investigation, European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager has ruled Apple benefited from unlawful tax arrangements.
"Apple's tax benefits in Ireland are illegal. Two tax rulings granted by Ireland have artificially reduced Apple's tax burden for over two decades in breach of EU state-aid rules. Apple now has to repay the benefits, worth up to 13 billion euros plus interest."
That is the equivalent of 19 billion dollars Australian.
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The standard corporate-tax rate in Ireland is 12-and-a-half per cent, but the European Commission has found the country allowed Apple to pay much less over many years.
"In 2011, Apple Sales International made a profit of 16 billion euros. Less than 50 million euros were allocated to the Irish branch. The rest, the huge majority, was allocated to a so-called head office, where they remained untaxed. This means that Apple's effective tax rate in 2011 was 0.05 per cent."
Apple says the European Commission is ignoring Ireland's tax laws and says the ruling will harm investment and affect jobs.
The company says its follows the law and pays all the taxes it owes wherever it operates and is confident the decision will be overturned on appeal.
Ireland's finance minister Michael Noonan is siding with Apple, saying he profoundly disagrees with the Commission and will seek Cabinet approval to appeal.
But on the streets of London, there was little sympathy for Apple.
(First:) "They should be standing up and paying the tax that they should pay. They're a huge company. They make an awful, awful lot of money."
(Second:) "It's unfair that they should have that advantage over everybody else. And, also, it's money that should be being ploughed back into the public. And it's not. If they're based in Ireland, then the Irish public should be benefiting."
Across the Atlantic, the United States says it is concerned the European Commission ruling will undermine international tax agreements.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest has called for collaboration on the issue.
We would prefer, if there are legitimate concerns that are raised by the Europeans about the erosion of their tax base, that they actually work effectively with the United States to address those concerns collaboratively, as opposed to taking the kind of unilateral approach that could have a totally unfair impact on US taxpayers."
New York financial analyst Euan Rellie says the decision could make US companies reconsider investing in Europe.
Mr Rellie says the European Union is trying very hard to be seen as defending its citizens and making sure big multinationals pay their fair share of taxes.
"Certainly, (there is) more to come, and, no question, the US targets are the most appealing targets -- if nothing else, because they've got the deepest pockets. The US companies have been very efficient at doing business in Europe and not paying too much tax, and now the political climate demands that they pay tax going forward."
