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Paradise Papers leak reveals Apple's tax evasion scheme

Written by Matti Robinson @ 07 Nov 2017 12:41 User comments (4)

Paradise Papers leak reveals Apple's tax evasion scheme A leak from Appleby, a company offering tax haven services, has revealed tons of information about tax evasion practices from companies to rich individuals. The so-called Paradise Papers have also unveiled how the world's richest company has been moving money around.
The tax agreement signed between Apple and Ireland was proven hugely important for Apple's profits. After years of avoiding most of the taxes in Europe, thanks to the deal with Ireland, EU started to crack down this special relationship.

According to EU the deal is illegal and Ireland is being forced to collect the $15 billion from Apple after the fact. Obviously Ireland has wanted to retain the warm relationship with Apple and keep the business but it's becoming increasingly difficult.

The Paradise Papers now reveal that Apple has indeed been fleeing Ireland and moving much of its off-shore assets from the subsidiary in Ireland to a tax haven in the island of Jersey, off the shore of France in the English Channel.



According to the leaks around $252 billion worth of monetary assets have been relocated, and while this doesn't in itself avoid taxes, except for the fact that they aren't brought to the U.S. to be taxed, it has reassured the lowest possible rate now that Ireland became too hostile due to pressure from EU.

Apple has responded with a statement of the own in which they say that this has not lowered taxes in any country and the move was in fact made "specifically to ensure that tax obligations and payments to the US were not reduced." Apple also noted that it is the largest tax payer in the world and would pay all taxes it owes to every country. It claims that the move to Jersey did not have any tax benefits to Apple.

However, while Apple might not have gained any new tax benefits, that, according to EU among others, is because it has been evading taxes the entire time. It seems clear that Apple is seeking for every possible tax evasion practice of which, mind you, some if not every single one could be legal, but definitely do not resonate with how the company's image has been built.

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4 user comments

17.11.2017 16:25

Apple is now officially the "epitome" of greedy, shitty American business. No better than the rest and often much worse as they DO NOT pass down savings to their unbeloved, sheeple of customers.

28.11.2017 16:49

Only an Idiot would buy a phone today for more than $1000 from a company that is insanely greedy and everyday tries to make more profit from repairs to who knows what ? They pay $200 and sell the crap to you at more than $1000. You must be nuts. My LG phone at $28 does most everything there crap does and everything else is mostly free. Keep getting ripped off fools !

38.11.2017 22:18

Recently my wife's 4 year old iPad went on the fritz. Apple offered to exchange it for $ 300/- with the same old model. Went to a local guy. Had the batteries replaced and the OS reinstalled. Cost me $35/- parts and labour. Working like a charm. We in India a;ways look for value for money. Just visit this to know what the Indian market is like.

https://telecomtalk.info/xiaomi-redmi-y...sh-sale/169894/

I would not be caught dead with an Apple product in my hands. My 2.5 year old Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime @ $120/- works for me.

412.11.2017 22:48

Originally posted by ronhondo:
Only an Idiot would buy a phone today for more than $1000 from a company that is insanely greedy and everyday tries to make more profit from repairs to who knows what ? They pay $200 and sell the crap to you at more than $1000. You must be nuts. My LG phone at $28 does most everything there crap does and everything else is mostly free. Keep getting ripped off fools !
A $5 Casio watch works as well (or better) than the most expensive Rolex. People buy the Rolex to show they have more dollars than sense, not to tell the time. I'm pretty sure that a lot of Apple users are following this model (except a used Rolex is still worth something). There are also those who can't really afford to throw money away but that want 'the best' and assume the most expensive thing is the best. Either way, jacking up the prices only helps the Apple allure. They just have to avoid the tipping point where so few people can afford them that even at $1,000,000 per phone they wouldn't be able to cover the cost of development. I'd like to imagine that people would just sort of sober up and act logically, but looking at everything else in the world...

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