The EU's top court is to begin hearing an appeal over Apple's tax affairs in Ireland today.
In 2020, a lower court ruled that Apple did NOT owe the Irish government 13 point 1 billion euro in unpaid tax.
However, the European Commission is appealing that decision to the European Court of Justice.
If the ruling is overturned, the US tech giant would be forced to pay the multi-billion euro tax bill, along with 1 billion in interest.
But economist Austin Hughes say the Irish government doesn't want the money:
'The reality is that if Ireland gets the 13 billion, then it's reputational damage and its status with the multi-nationals could be significantly affected.
In those circumstances, the much discussed 60 to 65 billion euro Government surpluses expected over the next couple of years could be placed at risk.'
