Ireland’s loss could be a UK gain - John McLellan
Published 12th Sep 2024, 07:00 GMT
Not that I was a Brexiteer, but a recent European Court of Justice ruling illustrates what campaigners have been arguing before 2016, that the EU restricts a government’s ability to compete.
The Irish Government fought for eight years to protect the tax incentives it offers big companies to base their European operations in the Republic, but this week it ran out of road as the higher court of the ECJ ordered Apple to pay a whopping £11 billion (€13 billion) in back taxes.
It’s a funny government that goes to court to stop a company coughing up billions in unpaid tax, but it demonstrates how much successive Irish administrations have valued the benefits they offer big corporations.