The Verge - Apple's $100 billion overseas tax headachehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52801/VER_Logomark_32x32..png2013-11-13T13:53:01-05:00http://www.theverge.com/rss/stream/41162972013-11-13T13:53:01-05:002013-11-13T13:53:01-05:00Apple reportedly under investigation for hiding over $1.34 billion from Italian tax authorities
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<p>Apple is under investigation for tax fraud in Italy, where it's alleged to have concealed more than €1 billion (about $1.34 billion) from tax authorities, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/13/us-apple-italy-tax-idUSBRE9AC0RW20131113" target="_blank">reports Reuters</a>. Though few other details have been revealed, a judicial source with knowledge of the investigation tells Reuters that "the Apple investigation is under way." Apple has been the subject of much scrutiny for its tax policies lately. In particular, those accusations have focused around Apple's use of Ireland as a tax haven — something that Ireland itself <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/15/4841694/ireland-considers-closing-tax-loopholes-used-by-apple">has considered ending</a>.</p>
<p>The tax fraud allegations were first reported by <a href="http://espresso.repubblica.it/affari/2013/11/13/news/apple-sotto-inchiesta-a-milano-per-frode-fiscale-di-oltre-un-miliardo-1.141085" target="_blank">the Italian publication <i>l'Espresso</i></a>, which includes additional details on the allegations. <a href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/11/13/italian-government-levels-tax-fraud-accusation-at-apple-raids-local-hq" target="_blank">According to <i>AppleInsider</i></a>, <i>l'Espresso</i> reports that Apple's...</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2013/11/13/5100396/apple-reportedly-under-investigation-tax-fraud-italyJacob Kastrenakes2013-10-15T15:37:10-04:002013-10-15T15:37:10-04:00Ireland considers closing tax loopholes used by Apple and other tech companies
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<figcaption>Dublin at night (Shutterstock)</figcaption>
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<p>Huge companies like Apple, Amazon, and <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/27/4369950/eric-schmidt-perplexed-by-uk-tax-controversy">Google</a> have <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/11/4511064/as-cash-piles-grow-nations-struggle-to-patch-tech-industrys-tax-loopholes">come under fire in recent months</a> for their practice of keeping large portions of their profits overseas in countries that are more tax-friendly — Apple alone <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/16/4337952/apple-tim-cook-defends-company-before-senate-hearing">has a $100 billion overseas cash hoard</a> that isn't subject to US taxes. As noted <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4351978/tim-cook-defends-apples-overseas-cash-im-not-an-unfair-person-not-who">during Tim Cook's testimony</a> to the US Senate this spring, the UK, and Ireland in particular, have been particularly <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/1/4483362/apple-zero-corporate-tax-uk-legal-loophole">tax-friendly to Apple</a>. The Ireland-based Apple Operations International (AOI) is a holding company that pays no income taxes in the US and a very low tax rate in Ireland — but that's something that could change before long.</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2013/10/15/4841694/ireland-considers-closing-tax-loopholes-used-by-appleNathan Ingraham2013-07-01T14:34:21-04:002013-07-01T14:34:21-04:00Apple reportedly paid no corporate taxes in the UK last year
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<p>Apple paid no corporate taxes in the UK last year, and a tax rate of just 2 percent on overseas profits, in a series of loopholes that lessen the companies international tax burden, according to a <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/13273fae-e1a3-11e2-95c1-00144feabdc0,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F13273fae-e1a3-11e2-95c1-00144feabdc0.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fappleinsider.com%2Farticles%2F13%2F07%2F01%2Fapple-faces-scrutiny-again-after-paying-no-2012-corporate-taxes-in-uk" target="_blank"><em>Financial Times</em> report</a>. Apple was able to pull this off by way of tax deductions from share awards to employees that offset the taxes owed, and the sheltering of money into offshoots in countries with lower-tax rates, such as the British Virgin Islands, the <em>FT</em> report said. Apple's actions are completely legal, the report said, but they might bring the company under even more scrutiny over its tax practices.</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2013/7/1/4483362/apple-zero-corporate-tax-uk-legal-loopholeNathan Olivarez-Giles2013-05-21T12:42:08-04:002013-05-21T12:42:08-04:00Tim Cook defends Apple's overseas cash: 'I'm not an unfair person, that's not who we are as a company'
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<p>Apple CEO Tim Cook and several other executives were not shaken by<a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4351620/senators-hearing-blast-apple-for-keeping-most-profits-overseas"> inquiries from the US Senate</a> over their company's $100 billion in overseas profits that aren't taxed in the US, defending the strategy in a high-profile hearing in Washington, DC, today. "I'm not an unfair person, that's not who we are as a company or who I am as an individual," Cook said after questioning from Senator John McCain (R-AZ).</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4351978/tim-cook-defends-apples-overseas-cash-im-not-an-unfair-person-not-whoCarl Franzen2013-05-21T11:38:05-04:002013-05-21T11:38:05-04:00Senators blast Apple in hearing for keeping most profits overseas
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<p>Leaders of a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/subcommittees/investigations/hearings/offshore-profit-shifting-and-the-us-tax-code_-part-2">US Senate subcommittee</a> looking into Apple's offshore cash holdings of over $100 billion began a hearing today featuring Apple CEO Tim Cook by blasting his company's strategy, which they likened to tax avoidance. "By engaging in these elusive corporate strategies aimed at deferring and reducing tax payments, Apple’s tax department has given new meaning to the company’s old slogan: ‘think different,'" said Senator John McCain (R-AZ.), reading from his <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=c7781ce2-0700-d17f-6f9f-6bff724bcad2">prepared testimony</a> this morning. Cook and Oppenheimer are testifying now, watch a live stream <a href="http://www.c-span.org/flvPop.aspx?id=10737439742" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4351620/senators-hearing-blast-apple-for-keeping-most-profits-overseasCarl Franzen2013-05-20T17:46:34-04:002013-05-20T17:46:34-04:00Senate probe accuses Apple of avoiding billions of dollars in taxes with offshore havens
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<p>A few hours after <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/20/4348990/apple-releases-testimony-on-offshore-tax-evasion">Apple released testimony defending itself</a> against allegations that it avoided taxes by shifting assets offshore, a Senate probe has concluded that it employed elaborate and extensive measures to exploit loopholes in the tax code. In a hearing tomorrow, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will examine numerous accusations, including claims that Apple created offshore subsidiaries in Ireland but did not declare a tax residence in either, paying no corporate taxes in either Ireland or the US for years.</p>
<p>"Apple claims to be the largest US corporate taxpayer, but by sheer size and scale, it is also among America's largest tax avoiders," said Senator John McCain (R-AZ), referencing Apple's testimony, in which...</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2013/5/20/4349512/senate-probe-accuses-apple-of-avoiding-billions-of-dollars-in-taxesAdi Robertson2013-05-20T15:05:48-04:002013-05-20T15:05:48-04:00Apple denies avoiding taxes, calls for reform in Senate testimony
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<p>Apple has has officially released the statement CEO Tim Cook will <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/15/4335168/tim-cook-testifying-senate-hearing-offshore-taxes">give before Congress on May 21st</a>, defending the company's tax practices and asking for an overhaul of the system. The Senate hearing is meant to illuminate the issue of companies shifting funds offshore to avoid taxes, though Cook has denied his company has done anything wrong. "Apple is likely the largest corporate income tax payer in the US, having paid nearly $6 billion in taxes to the US Treasury in FY2012," the statement says. "These payments account for $1 in every $40 in corporate income tax the US Treasury collected last year." It puts its tax rate at roughly 30 percent.</p>
<p>The company describes itself as a major driver of economic growth, both through its direct...</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2013/5/20/4348990/apple-releases-testimony-on-offshore-tax-evasionAdi Robertson2013-05-16T16:37:30-04:002013-05-16T16:37:30-04:00Tim Cook defends Apple ahead of Senate hearing, reveals more about US manufacturing plans
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<p>Apple CEO Tim Cook is heading to Washington, DC on Tuesday, May 21st to<a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/15/4335168/tim-cook-testifying-senate-hearing-offshore-taxes" target="_blank"> testify before a Senate committee</a> scrutinizing Apple's massive offshore cash hoard of about $100 billion, which the company doesn't pay US taxes on. But Cook is already going on the offensive ahead of the hearing, giving a rare interview to <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/apple-tim-cook-congress-tax-91501.html" target="_blank"><i>Politico</i></a> today saying he will stand by the legality of his company's practices. “I can tell you unequivocally Apple does not funnel its domestic profits overseas," Cook said, according to <i>Politico</i>. <span style="line-height: 9px;">"</span>We don't do that. We pay taxes on all the products we sell in the US, and we pay every dollar that we owe. And so I'd like to be really clear on that."</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2013/5/16/4337952/apple-tim-cook-defends-company-before-senate-hearingCarl Franzen