Ireland to fight EU order to collect €13bn in back taxes from Apple

Dublin government argues it should be allowed to choose how much it levies on foreign companies

Ireland will appeal the European Union's order to force it to collect a record a13bn in taxes from Apple, the Irish government has said.

The Irish finance department's announcement on Monday comes nearly four months after EU competition authorities hit Apple with the back-tax bill based on its longtime reporting of European-wide profits through Ireland. The country charges the American company only for sales on its own territory at Europe-low rates that in turn have been greatly reduced by the controversial use of shell companies at home and abroad.