Being singled out will add to tension with EU

NOT too long ago, former Taoiseach Enda Kenny was derided for being a star pupil, as Ireland enjoyed best-in-class status in the EU, thanks to his ‘apple for the teacher’ approach. Ironic then, that it was Apple that got caught in the throat of the European Commission, which yesterday sought to consign us to the naughty step and refer Ireland to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for failing to recover up to €13bn of “illegal” aid from the computer behemoth.

Evidently stunned by the move, the Department of Finance said this country never accepted the Commission’s analysis. The salvo by EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager conveniently follows assaults on our corporate tax.

Leaving aside the fact Ireland’s state aid deal with Apple pre-dates the EU sanctions and that to claim it back retrospectively has no legal basis, the Government still agreed to recover the alleged Apple aid.

There are therefore grounds for asking is Ireland being singled out for special attention? The EU has had our corporate tax rates in its sights for years.

But Vestager’s move will add significantly to tensions between Brussels and Dublin at a time when all attention ought to be focused on handling the challenges of Brexit. “Regrettable” and “unnecessary” was how the Department of Finance described the decision.

The commission will naturally deny there is any animus against this country. But it is difficult to separate the heavy-handed treatment from the stated intention of corralling countries into agreeing on a digital tax.

It’s hard not to surmise this attack has more to do with an envious eye on the €2.3bn in tax last year from the top 10 corporate taxpayers, than foot-dragging on compliance.