The European Commission has aggressively sought to stamp out sweetheart tax deals that countries strike with multinational companies. The European Commission denies these claims, saying that it is relying on a history of using state-aid rules related to corporate tax issues. Its corporate tax rate, at 12.5 percent, is one of the lowest in the developed world. Ireland, with its low corporate tax rate, has been an especially big beneficiary of such deals, which helped plump up the country’s economy last year. Ireland stands by its approach to taxes, saying it did not give preferential treatment to Apple or other companies.

Source: International New York Times August 30, 2016 09:50 UTC