Ireland launches appeal against EU Apple tax ruling

Dublin

IRELAND lodged a formal appeal on Wednesday against a European Commission ruling ordering the country to collect billions of euros in unpaid taxes from tech giant Apple.

"Our application has now been lodged in the General Court of the European Union," a finance ministry spokesman said in a statement, confirming the move mooted in Brussels on Tuesday by Finance Minister Michael Noonan. "The government disagrees profoundly with the commission's analysis in the Apple state aid case, and our position on all aspects of the case is very well known," the spokesman added.