麻豆社

The European Commission has said that Apple should pay up to $14bn in back taxes to Ireland, which was charging a much lower tax rate than other countries might have.

Normally, when we think about the European Union, we think about harmonisation - for example, across the bloc all plugs have to be the same. What then was the justification for not standardising tax across the EU, so that some countries - such as Ireland - could effectively charge a corporation tax of just 1%?

The Irish economist, Seamus Coffey, explains why it might be justified.

(Photo: The Apple logo is displayed at an Apple Store. Credit: Eric Thayer/Getty Images)