> Apple's ignorance of EU law is not an excuse, this doesn't work for individuals, why should it work for big multinational companies?
It’s worse than that. What was being ignored was Irish law. The EU just said that this law should be applied equally without the Irish government cutting special deals.
> Apple's decision to put their trust completely in Ireland officials and sidestep the EU is their own mistake.
Indeed. But it is not a terrible mistake: you should be able to take a tax administration at their word, even though you should also know what you have to pay in taxes. They are not really being punished, they just need to pay what they owe, which I think is fair.
It’s worse than that. What was being ignored was Irish law. The EU just said that this law should be applied equally without the Irish government cutting special deals.
> Apple's decision to put their trust completely in Ireland officials and sidestep the EU is their own mistake.
Indeed. But it is not a terrible mistake: you should be able to take a tax administration at their word, even though you should also know what you have to pay in taxes. They are not really being punished, they just need to pay what they owe, which I think is fair.