Ireland is being forced to tear up its own taxation rules, by countries who have an interest in making the Irish economy less competitive.
This is an antitrust case. The point is that Ireland gave Apple preferential terms compared to its own tax rules.
I'm well aware that the EU has no authority on direct tax matters, which is exactly why Ireland feels aggrieved, as the Commission is effectively using state aid law as a vehicle to circumvent the limitations on the EU's powers.
as someone who generally dislikes the EU... this one seems fair?
giving Apple a custom tax rate to encourage Apple to set up in Ireland seems exactly what state aid rules were designed to stop
After several years it has now been suggested that the higher court puts aside its judgement and that it goes back to the lower court, because apparently (according to the Advocate General) the lower court did not take into account several factors and had errors in its judgement (relating to Intellectual property rights, where tax should be paid e.g. in the country of sales or in the country of registration). Which seems to make it once again an issue on tax and not on sweetheart deals.
What you are saying is bullshit.
This affects only Apple, and not any other company.