The debate of the last couple of years about corporation tax in Europe resembles a popular ‘whodunnit’: point at an obvious suspect before realising that things are not as they seem. The storyline is still being written, but it risks taking a shortcut by identifying some politically convenient suspects, without uncovering whether any wrongdoing has occurred. This would certainly not please the fictional Belgian detective Mr Hercule Poirot who was insistent that “It is the brain, the little gray cells on which one must rely. One must seek the truth within–not without.”
It is to that standard the European Commission’s competition enforcement teams must live up as they investigate claims that state aid has been granted by certain countries to certain companies… To read Waterworth’s full post as it appeared on our DisCo blog, please click here.