On Tuesday, Apple was ordered to repay as much as 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) plus interest after the European Commission said Ireland illegally slashed the iPhone maker's tax bill between 2003-2014. Here are some key questions surrounding the decision.That Ireland provided Apple illegal aid through a favorable tax arrangement, which violated the European Union's state-aid rules. It's the largest tax penalty in a three-year crackdown on sweetheart fiscal deals granted to multinationals by EU nations. "The commission's investigation concluded that Ireland granted illegal tax benefits to Apple, which enabled it to pay substantially less tax than other businesses over many years. Ireland's Noonan said the commission left him with "no choice" but to move toward an appeal before the EU courts.

Source: Economic Times August 30, 2016 14:38 UTC