Apple has moved roughly $8.9 billion in untaxed profits from its Australian operations to a tax haven structure in Ireland over the last decade, The Australian Financial Review reports. The article claims that while Apple reported pretax earnings of $88.5 million in Australia last year, the company “sent $2 billion of income from its Australian sales to Ireland via Singapore, where Apple negotiated a secret tax deal.” Using 10 years of financial accounts obtained from Apple’s Irish company, Apple Sales International, the Financial Review says that although Apple Sales International has reported more than $100 billion in profits during the last five years, it has paid less than 50 cents in tax on every $1000 of income.
As was noted last year when Apple came under fire for tax practices, Apple avoids paying taxes in Ireland because the company is managed in the U.S., but avoids U.S. taxes by having Apple Sales International registered in Ireland. Though Ireland has said it would close the loophole, Apple can still choose where to base its tax residence. In 2010, Apple started rerouting sales through a new subsidiary based in Singapore, Apple South Asia Pte Ltd. The publication notes “there is no suggestion … that this arrangement is anything but proper within Australian tax laws.”