Recently Apple Inc. has been under fire for allegedly evading tax by moving a huge portion of its cash in Europe to one of the Channel Islands. According to BBC News, Apple has moved $252 billion of untaxed cash to this tax paradise after the company reformed its tax structure in Europe.
This is linked to the EU and US Senate’s investigations in 2013, in which Apple was accused of evading taxes by shifting profit onto its Irish subsidiaries. While this investigation is still ongoing, Apple has found a way to keep their case untaxed, this time by shifting the money to Jersey. Currently, corporate income tax in Jersey is 0%. By moving its cash profit to tax paradise like Jersey, Apple could save billions in corporate tax.
In response to the new accusations, Apple has released a statement referring to the “inaccuracies in these reports.” In this statement, Apple stated, “The changes we made did not reduce our tax payments in any country.” Furthermore, Apple said that they are “the largest taxpayer in the world, paying over $35 billion in corporate income taxes in the last three years.”
On the other hand, it is important to note that Apple invests much time and money into helping communities and students. The statement also made sure to inform the public about Apple’s commitment to serve the communities in which it operates. “We believe every company has a responsibility to pay the taxes they owe and we’re proud of the economic contributions we make to the countries and communities where we do business.” For example, the Everyone Can Code initiative helps students in colleges to learn Swift, a programming language developed by Apple. Software engineers at Apple designed the curriculums that teach students of all backgrounds and skills software development and design.
It is currently unclear whether Apple’s structure reformation actually decreased the amount of taxes which Apple paid in Europe. While many reports have claimed that Apple’s actions may have aided them in evading taxes, Apple has declared that “the changes we made did not reduce our tax payments in any country.”
