Publication

This paper considers the broader implications of the European Commission’s (EC) recent decision on Ireland’s lucrative tax arrangements with Apple. In a departure from past practices, the EC refused to recognize the arrangements as a form of state aid and ruled that the artificially low tax rates violated EU regulations. The reason for the reversal, at least as the text’s authors see it, is that the EC has become more aggressive in fighting tax evasion, primarily because of growing social pressures and conflicts between national development models and the international market. Indeed, if the EC’s Apple decision is upheld by the EU Court of Justice (CJEU), the Commission’s prohibitions on unlawful state aid may become genuine weapons in fighting tax evasion in the future.