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The European Commission found that the tax advantages offered by Ireland to Apple broke EU rules on state aid and ordered it to recover €13 billion ($14.5 billion) in taxes from the company, by far the highest penalty the commission has imposed in its crackdown on corporate tax avoidance. But the decision was criticised for intervening in an arrangement struck with Irish authorities 25 years ago, and which the government still supports. Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said the company had never sought any special favours from Ireland, and is being asked to pay taxes to a government that insists it is not owed any money. See here and here. 

Activist shareholders in Germany claimed a rare victory in toppling the chairman of Stada, a drug company. Active Ownership Capital, an investment firm, said Stada was being managed mostly by pharmacists and doctors with little global ambition. It ran a campaign to install a new slate of shareholder representatives on the supervisory board made up of executives who have worked in some of Germany’s biggest corporations. See article. 

In the crosshairs

The argument over sharp rises ...