Jim Armitage: Ireland has more to offer than the low tax that lured Apple

Ireland is in a tizz about Brussels’ efforts to kill its sweetheart tax deal with Apple. But it should be more confident of its charms besides being a tax haven.

Apple has for years been lowering its global tax bill through the country, using jauntily named accounting tricks like the Double Irish and Dutch Sandwich.

But EU regulators have taken notice and could order the company to pay billions of euros in unpaid taxes to the Irish state.

Ireland doesn’t want the money — it would rather keep Apple’s business instead and fears there’s more than this one company at stake.

Many others have been knocking back a double Irish or two to slash their tax bills, and not just in the tech sector. General Electric and big pharma love Ireland’s taxes too.

Some might leave if Apple loses its case, but Ireland’s economy is not as reliant on low taxes as many fear.

The data suggests joining the European single market in 1993 was a far bigger driver of its dramatic economic growth than tax cuts, which began in the 1950s.

Europe’s investors were attracted to deeper benefits like its educated, mobile workforce and the potential of its farmland.

Sadly, opening the gates to Europe also ushered in a flood of lending that created a disastrous debt bubble. But that’s a separate issue.

The lesson remains — tax avoidance shouldn’t be a mainstay of Ireland’s economic policy.