Take money and dare them to run - Apple’s €13bn tax bill

ENDA KENNY has finally taken off his cloak of invisibility which he appears to have worn over the past few weeks, emerging to make an inane contribution to the debate about the Apple state aid.

The Taoiseach has said the European Commission’s decision that Ireland granted undue tax benefits of up to €13bn to Apple has created an “unprecedented situation” — not quite Charles Haughey’s ‘Gubu’ pronouncement, but close.

As the Cabinet met yesterday to discuss the ruling, it was clear Finance Minister Michael Noonan’s view that the EC decision was wrong and should be appealed was not shared by many of his colleagues. His view of the Apple ruling contrasts with the stance he took in July in relation to Ireland’s extra €280 million EU budget liability based on extraordinary GDP figures boosted by the presence of Apple, Google, and other multinationals in Ireland. Minister Noonan said he accepted that Ireland rightly had the extra liability, would pay it and could afford to do so.