Just by saying this you indicate you don't understand what the EU is and what Apple / IRE are being accused of here..
I think I understand it all quite well - thank you very much. I especially understand the grandstanding behaviour of Mrs Vestager. Please from the outset understand that the rate of tax is a
sovereign choice by Ireland.
NO ONE else can make that decision. I could very well turn around and say let the rest come down to 7 or 8%. Ohh no - we can’t say that. And rightly so!!
The entire case is about State-Aid. The allegation is that Ireland gave an unfair advantage to Apple Inc by basically not taxing it enough. A State-aid
pretext cannot be used to
usurp sovereign tax decisions. The EU is trying to use completion law to enforce its will (tax laws) on
sovereign member states. Not going to happen!
Tax avoidance is a problem that can only be solved through transparent legislation with consensus by all EU member states.
The case is simply without merit. It is blindingly obvious. Mrs Vestager can twist and turn it whatever way she wants. The State-Aid argument will not hold up in the ECJ. The ECJ are not grandstanders. Tax decisions are
sovereign.
So I fully stand by my initial post. The problem
never resided with Ireland, The Netherlands, Luxembourg or the rest. The problem is in the EU architecture, built in by people like Wolfgang Schäuble. Knock at his door for answers. If the EU wants the tax - collect it in their own countries. Ireland is not a tax collector for other countries.
Basically change of the Lisbon Treaty is the answer. But that is toxic right now - so they (unelected technocrats and some grandstanding heads of state) bang a drum about State-Aid (taxes) to stir up tensions between countries. I am confident most EU citizens see this for what it is - yet another attempt at a
power grab by the EU entity - that will effect all member states (especially the smaller ones).
