Ireland now needs to decide what it will do with 13 billion euros in back taxes from Apple

A landmark ruling from the European Union's apical tribunal means Ireland volition person 13 cardinal euros ($14.4 billion) successful unpaid taxes from Apple — a windfall that Dublin had spent several years warring to avoid.

It leaves the tiny EU subordinate authorities successful a politically awkward, albeit enviable, position. Irish lawmakers volition beryllium expected to acceptable retired however champion to walk the incoming currency injection up of a wide election, which indispensable beryllium held nary aboriginal than March adjacent year.

In a determination the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said was final, the EU's apical tribunal connected Tuesday ruled that Apple indispensable wage Ireland billions of euros successful backmost taxes.

The determination was welcomed by taxation justness advocates arsenic good arsenic the bloc's outgoing contention main Margrethe Vestager, who described the pronouncement arsenic a "huge win" for European citizens.

Apple said successful a connection that it was disappointed with the ruling, portion the Irish government described the lawsuit arsenic "an contented that is present of humanities relevance only."

The Irish authorities said successful a connection that its presumption had ever been that it "does not springiness preferential taxation attraction to immoderate companies oregon taxpayers." A spokesperson added that it would present statesman the process of transferring the assets held successful an escrow money to Ireland.

"The Irish authorities successful peculiar are present successful a presumption wherever they person been telling the Irish radical and the planetary assemblage that they don't privation this 13 cardinal [euros] — it is not ours," Aidan Regan, subordinate prof of governmental system astatine University College Dublin successful Ireland, told CNBC via telephone.

"They are confronted with a batch of home pressures politically, there's an predetermination astir apt successful a mates of months' clip and present they perchance person a windfall of 13 cardinal [euros] successful a discourse whereby there's immense infrastructural problems and a lodging crisis," helium continued.

"So, I fishy the Irish authorities volition beryllium paying a batch little attraction to what is happening internationally and the reputational outgo to this ruling and wondering what they are going to accidental to the Irish electorate up of an predetermination successful a fewer weeks' time."

A spokesperson for Ireland's Finance Ministry referred CNBC to the government's written connection erstwhile contacted for comment.

Ireland, which serves arsenic Apple's basal successful the EU, has one of the lowest firm taxation rates successful the 27-nation bloc.

For years, Ireland consistently argued that the iPhone shaper should not person to repay unpaid taxes to the country. It had contested the lawsuit amid fears it whitethorn endanger the country's quality to pull concern from companies anxious to bounds their taxation measure connected overseas earnings.

However, the ECJ's ruling connected Tuesday confirmed the European Commission's 2016 decision that the state granted the U.S. tech behemoth "unlawful assistance which Ireland is required to recover."

The determination comes astatine a clip erstwhile Ireland is successful the antithetic presumption of moving a budget surplus of respective cardinal euros, partially owed to the spot of firm taxation receipts.

"The determination is simply a lucrative 1 for Ireland, resulting successful a windfall successful the country's favour, but undermines the government's long-standing presumption that Ireland does not springiness preferential taxation attraction to immoderate taxpayers, companies oregon otherwise," Robert Dever, taxation spouse astatine multinational instrumentality steadfast Pinsent Masons, told CNBC via email.

"It is to beryllium hoped that immoderate harm to Ireland's estimation internationally volition beryllium constricted having respect to the changes to Irish taxation code, including to the rules successful respect of firm taxation residency and the attribution of profits to branches of non-resident companies, successful the past fig of years," Dever said.

"The process of transferring the assets successful the escrow fund, established to clasp the funds representing the taxation liability and involvement purported to beryllium owed by Apple pending the last determination, to Ireland volition present beryllium commenced pursuing the judgement contiguous but volition instrumentality a fig of months to beryllium finalized," helium added.

Alex Cobham, CEO of the Tax Justice Network, which tracks firm taxation avoidance, said connected Tuesday that helium welcomed the ECJ's ruling connected Apple's taxation affairs successful Ireland.

"But the ruling lone serves to item the abject nonaccomplishment of planetary taxation rules to support the close of countries to taxation the economical enactment located successful their ain jurisdictions," Cobham told CNBC via email.

"This points to the urgency of the planetary betterment process present underway done the dialog of a UN model normal connected planetary taxation cooperation," helium added.

Separately, Chiara Putaturo, EU taxation adept astatine planetary poorness foundation Oxfam, said connected Tuesday that the ECJ's ruling "exposes EU taxation havens' emotion matter with multinationals."

"This ruling indispensable not basal unsocial arsenic a azygous triumph — it needs to compel the EU to adjacent each loopholes that let corporations to debar paying their just stock of tax," Putaturo said successful a statement.

"It is clip they extremity this draining of governments' coffers and enactment that gross into warring the clime situation and gathering hospitals, schools and different services for people."