Consider the pressure / race to the bottom this puts on the rest of the EU though. The EU has an incentive to try to keep things fair between the states (disallowing sweetheart deals to lure companies away from other members), because this sort of competition is harmful to the EU as a whole. It's not like Apple is going to stop selling to Europe; they'll be somewhere if not Ireland, and the EU benefits as a whole if Apple is not allowed to skip out on paying its share.
The problem is, no-one's offered a sane alternative.
The top employment sectors in Ireland are Food&Drink, Pharma, and Tech. The latter two of those are massively dominated by multinationals. Combine that with multinationals contributing the bulk of corporate taxes, and we simply can't afford to scare them away. Without these MNCs, Ireland's economy would be basically beef, beer, and American tourists. There simply isn't enough native industry to make up the short-fall (which is the part I think should actually be addressed, rather than the symptoms).
(And away they will - Ireland is not the lowest corporate tax rate in the EU. Liechtenstein and Cyprus have the same rate, and 3 more states have a lower rate.)
I do understand the desire for a level playing field. It's a noble goal. But we're basically being told "We'd like you to drive your economy back to the 1950s, because France feels it'd be more fair". It's not a particularly enticing proposal - all stick and no carrot.
Ironically, they're championing our post-bailout growth as a success, while they retroactively make the mechanisms behind it illegal.
Since when was the EU supposed to be about making things "fair" between countries? The EU does not advertise itself as a club that requires you to become less competitive in order to avoid upsetting the French.
Tax competition doesn't harm the EU, it makes it stronger. Because you realise, that there are countries outside the EU too, who can also lower their tax rates ...
IMHO, Taxes (or market access/safety-of-life etc) are absurdely overpriced. We are seeing market-competition. And I for one welcome it, like any other competition.
I dont know whats "fair" and I dont care. I want things as cheap as possible.
