Ireland to appeal EU's record $14 billion tax order on Apple

DUBLIN (AP) — Ireland is appealing the European Union's landmark order to collect 13 billion euros ($14 billion) in taxes from Apple.

The Irish countermove comes four months after EU competition authorities hit Apple with the record bill asserting it grossly underpaid taxes on European-wide profits reported through Ireland from 2003 to 2014. The island nation charged the American company only for sales on its own territory at Europe-low rates that in turn were sharply reduced by the controversial use of shell companies at home and abroad.

In Monday's formal legal submission, the Irish Department of Finance accuses EU competition authorities of launching an unfair attack on Ireland's low-tax sales pitch to foreign investors, exceeding their competence and authority, and seeking to breach Ireland's sovereignty in national tax affairs.