Apple accused again to evade taxes
December 31, 2015
It’s not a secret to anyone that Apple’s profits are very high. Each fiscal year the company accumulates higher and higher values, the result of consistent sales. But this has not stopped Apple from getting caught in scandals related to tax evasion. The most recent case comes from Italy and shows that Apple once again tried to cheat the system.
According to Italian media reports, Apple was being investigated for tax evasion for several years. Between 2008 and 2013, the Cupertino Company declared lower values that those which they actually received, thereby paying lower amount of taxes. Altogether Apple should have paid taxes in the amount of 880 million euros, something that didn’t happen.
To resolve the issue and avoid the normal processes to move forward quickly, Apple has agreed to pay the sum of 318 million euros.
By using Ireland as the company’s tax headquarter in Europe, Apple can guarantee a much lower amount of taxes, something that benefits compared to other countries, where taxes are much higher.
This is not the first time Apple is accused of this behavior related to taxes. This year the Company was forced to pay a large fine in China, also to be able to avoid a similar process to move forward to the courts.
Recently, Tim Cook talked about taxes that Apple paid, noting that the company meets all its obligations in countries where it has presence.
“We pay more taxes in this country than anyone. It would cost me 40% [taxes] to bring it home. And I don’t think that’s a reasonable thing to do. This is a tax code that was made for the industrial age, not the digital age. It’s backwards. It’s awful for America. It should have been fixed many years ago. It’s past time to get it done”.
The truth is that these cases often arise and show that even industry giants like Apple at all costs trying to avoid paying taxes. Several investigations are ongoing in Europe, seeking to know whether several companies, and among them is Apple, are using illegally Ireland as tax headquarters to benefit from lower taxes practiced there.