Apple, one of the most successful and profitable companies in the world, should be paying more in taxes. And this time it’s not just authorities and governments saying that, it’s one of the company’s co-founders, Steve Wozniak.
In recent years, numerous multinational corporations have come under fire and investigation for using tax loopholes, shady government deals and relying on tax havens to hide their profits and not pay their fair share in taxes.
According to an ongoing EU investigation into Apple’s tax practices, the iPhone-maker ends up paying an effective tax rate of only 2%. This is six times less than the already ultra-low rate of 12.5% that Ireland has consistently offered to tech businesses based there, and these numbers and practices have The Woz worried. In an interview with the BBC he said:
I don’t like the idea that Apple might be unfair – not paying taxes the way I do as a person. I do a lot of work, I do a lot of travel and I pay over 50% of anything I make in taxes and I believe that’s part of life and you should do it.
While both the US Senate and the European Union have started investigations into Apple’s tax practices, the company’s CEO, Tim Cook, has denied any wrongdoing and called the notion that Apple is avoiding taxes “political crap”.
Source: The Guardian
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