If the value of a company resides in its customer information, proprietary research, or financial data , it can largely vanish via a cybersecurity breach.
Dublin is challenging the $14.5 billion judgment as a "seismic" attack on the integrity of its corporate tax system.
The European Commission says Ireland improperly allowed Apple to avoid paying taxes on almost all profits from sales in the EU.
The European Parliamentary Research Service has estimated that corporate tax-dodging costs the EU between $54.5 billion and $76.4 billion a year.
The oilfield services supplier has taken another step to ease the concerns of regulators who fear the merger would be anticompetitive.
The decision requires Belgium to recover about $762 million from at least 35 multinationals that benefited from the tax loophole.
Investigators reportedly found a $961 million gap between Apple's sales in Italy over a five-year period and what it paid in tax.
CEO TIm Cook affirms Apple's commitment to Ireland, where the company is expanding its Cork campus to accommodate a growing workforce.
The unprecedented decisions could spell trouble for other multinationals that have made deals with European governments as part of tax avoidance strategies.
With U.S. regulators close to a decision on the merger, it now faces an in-depth antitrust review by the European Commission.
'We believe that Google increases choice for European consumers and offers valuable opportunities for businesses of all sizes,' says a Google executive.
Did the maker of smartphone and tablet chipsets abuse its dominant market position?
