Well done Oz for leading the way. I hope all the EU follows. Starmer will be afraid of offending Trump of course and Ireland will be afraid of offending its corporation tax cash cows, but it should be a nobrainer for all the rest.
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Now we also need tik tok as that nasty man Larry Ellison is trying to buy that and add to the snooping and controversy with more fake news and opinion to follow.
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Said platform providers just need to move their European operations to Lichtenstein or Luxembourg and watch the EU go silent.
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I hope not.
Well, Vodafone amongst many others, made that ‘move’ from their glittering major office premises in Paddington Basin, that for some reason is still there, some time ago.
Same as Union Street in Southwark
Yes, he’s turned out to be a total shit, hasn’t he? I always thought he was a bit of a shit but he’s exceeded my expectations 
Made his money, as have so many others, Gates et al, by leveraging an IBM invention, in this case the relational database.
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No, not that easy. They are all HQ’d in Dublin and paying SFA EU tax, if they move it’ll cost them billions. It’ll be cheaper and easier to just comply. Albeit with Trump having a freedom of speech whinge.
That’s not to say they won’t move over time, but I’ve been predicting that since I sat on a board twenty years ago and sent billions to the Netherlands for the now defunct “double Irish”. Irish Corporate tax take (ie US MNC tax avoidance) is at record levels. Trebles all round 
" Ireland has experienced record-breaking corporate tax receipts in recent years, with a new monthly high of €10 billion collected in November 2025 . The total corporate tax take for the full year 2024 was a record €39.1 billion, although this figure was significantly boosted by a one-off payment from Apple.
I’m sure a few large brown envelopes delivered to right people in Brussels could change that for a far more reasonable sum.
A 10 second preview of Kompromat featuring the grandees in question arriving in their inboxes would also be very efficient.
Such cynicism in one so young
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So does this money mean Ireland’s health service will improve then?
I am looking into my family tree, lots from both sides of the border in case France throws me out as I might need a grandparent or greatgrandparent to stay EU. But hearing the health service there is a bit difficult.
How am I going to fix all those broken things and get building and DIY hints without YouTube? Essential in an old French house and barn. The other two can go.
Unlikely Karen, it’s not a money issue. Ireland already spends a lot on the public health system, plus around 50% of people have private health insurance and only use the public system for emergencies. So if you include that spend, Ireland outspends the rest of EU countries per capita (measuring vs GDP is pointless with Ireland’s inflated numbers).
It’s the historical bloated management and administration overhead that wastes the public money and no politicians have the courage to address it. Once you actually get into the system though, past ED, past waiting lists, etc. the care is excellent.
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