3 ms·

No, that's not right. The idea that state aid laws are relevant to corporation tax levels is a relatively recent phenomenon in the EU which is why these tax se

No, that's not right. The idea that state aid laws are relevant to corporation tax levels is a relatively recent phenomenon in the EU which is why these tax setups date back decades and it's only now that the EU has suddenly "discovered" that they're illegal. The laws have not always been in place and not being followed. Rather, an extremely vague set of EU powers is now being stretched past the limit in order to enforce EU policy of the day.

k-mcgrady 10y ago
Have you got any good info on the state aid laws? I've seen it mentioned in every news story on this and not one has the courtesy to explain it. Judging from what you're saying though the law has always been in place and no new law has been created to enforce this decision - it's just an old law being interpreted to cover this scenario. Is that correct?
- zigzigzag 10y ago
  Yes, state aid laws are old. But they were put in place and are intended for situations where governments are subsidising weak local companies or industries that wouldn't survive if exposed to (intra-EU) competition unsubsidised. That's why they call it "aid". But nobody is arguing that Apple is weak and needs to be protected from foreign competition in this case. Apple is the foreign competition. And Ireland isn't paying them money to keep them afloat. So this is a very different sort of situation to what state aid rules were designed for, and that's why the EU is using such a tortured definition of "aid". The Commission has wanted to control and harmonise member state tax policies for a long time but know governments would never let them when asked directly. So they are finding ways to bend old powers to their latest needs.
  - k-mcgrady 10y ago
    Hmm that's really interesting. I'm definitely going to be reading up more on this but it seems like Ireland is kind of giving itself state aid in a way by offering Apple a nice deal and therefore Ireland doesn't face competition from other EU member states. If that's the case, even if it didn't fall under state aid something should be in place to prevent it I think or we'll just face a race to the bottom. Thanks for the info!

k-mcgrady 10y ago

Have you got any good info on the state aid laws? I've seen it mentioned in every news story on this and not one has the courtesy to explain it. Judging from what you're saying though the law has always been in place and no new law has been created to enforce this decision - it's just an old law being interpreted to cover this scenario. Is that correct?

zigzigzag 10y ago
Yes, state aid laws are old. But they were put in place and are intended for situations where governments are subsidising weak local companies or industries that wouldn't survive if exposed to (intra-EU) competition unsubsidised. That's why they call it "aid". But nobody is arguing that Apple is weak and needs to be protected from foreign competition in this case. Apple is the foreign competition. And Ireland isn't paying them money to keep them afloat. So this is a very different sort of situation to what state aid rules were designed for, and that's why the EU is using such a tortured definition of "aid". The Commission has wanted to control and harmonise member state tax policies for a long time but know governments would never let them when asked directly. So they are finding ways to bend old powers to their latest needs.
- k-mcgrady 10y ago
  Hmm that's really interesting. I'm definitely going to be reading up more on this but it seems like Ireland is kind of giving itself state aid in a way by offering Apple a nice deal and therefore Ireland doesn't face competition from other EU member states. If that's the case, even if it didn't fall under state aid something should be in place to prevent it I think or we'll just face a race to the bottom. Thanks for the info!