Google will find out if it owes over €1.1bn in back taxes to France through using an Irish company, just days after it was slapped with a record competition fine by the EU.

As Prof Joseph Stiglitz said, the State knew what it was doing in agreeing Apple tax deals, writes Alison O’Connor.

Michael Noonan’s battle to maintain Ireland’s attractiveness for multinationals and at the same time reduce the pressure from other EU countries saw him set the new knowledge development box (KDB) tax rate at 6.5% — just half the corporate tax rate — from January.

Changes to Ireland’s controversial ‘Double Irish’ tax regime for foreign companies based here could be implemented in next month’s budget, Jobs Minister Richard Bruton has signalled.

Ireland’s carefully constructed corporate tax regime — credited with making the country a magnet for multinational companies — could be deconstructed within 24 months under an action plan being released today.