Even by the usual Brussels standards of economic malpractice, Tuesday’s €13 billion ($14.5 billion) tax assault on Apple is something to behold. The European Commission decided that Dublin’s application of Irish tax law to an American company violated European antitrust rules. Orwell would understand.

At issue is how Ireland has taxed global companies with Irish subsidiaries. Apple in the 1980s established two business units in Cork to manage global sales. These units held the rights to much of Apple’s intellectual property...