The ruling by the European Commission that Apple has benefitted from unfair state aid, and must pay €13bn (£11.1bn) as a result, provoked a furious reaction from a number of directions. The Irish government, the US government, and of course Apple were just some of those to vent their anger at the decision.  

The size of the sum that the EC ruled was owed to Ireland was always going to raise eyebrows and the hackles of the parties involved. There are implications not just for the parties directly involved, but for business in general, sovereignty and for who holds the reins of power in the global tax system.