- Apple's Tim Cook defends tax claim
- Apple tax: The Irish connection - Senate
- Apple 'among US's big tax avoiders'
Ireland
plans to shut a tax arrangement used by Apple to shelter $40bn (£25bn) from
taxation.
Apple, and
other firms, have been able to funnel profits into Irish subsidiaries or
"ghost companies" that had no declared tax residency anywhere in the
world.
On Tuesday,
the Irish government said it planned to make it illegal for a company to have
no tax domicile.
But firms
would be able to nominate any country as their tax residence.
That
includes countries such as Bermuda which offer zero tax rates.
Because of
that, tax experts say that the change announced on Tuesday will not make much
difference to the amount of tax paid by Apple.
Google and
Microsoft have Irish subsidiaries that legally channel money to Bermuda where
they pay zero tax.
But
Ireland's Finance Minister Michael Noon said his country was committed to
reform.
"Let
me be crystal clear. Ireland wants to be part of the solution to this global
tax challenge, not part of the problem," he said.
Back in
May, a US Senate committee said Apple had used "a complex web of offshore
entities" to avoid paying billions of dollars in US income taxes.
Google,
Microsoft and Apple say they follow tax rules in every country where they
operate.
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