Tax setback for Apple and Amazon

The EU is hauling Ireland before its highest court for failing to recover €13bn in back taxes from Apple, writes Sorcha Ní Coileáin in Brussels.

More than a year on from its finding that the tech giant had illegal and decades-long tax breaks here, EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said the Government had not acted fast enough to claw back the money.

Ireland and Apple have both appealed the decision, but under EU rules the Government should have recovered the money within four months of the ruling, and put it in trust.