Sky News has revealed that top end electronics firm Apple paid a rather slender 2% tax on its overseas profits. It was revealed that the US company paid $713 million in tax in the face of soaring earnings which topped $36 billion in the year to September 2012.
Apple joins a growing fistful of huge international companies who seem to be able to legally lower their tax bills – in recent times, it was discovered that a number of American companies including eBay, Facebook, Starbucks and Amazon all paid far lower taxes than expected based on their revenues. A loophole in international accountancy law means that a company can generate revenues in one country and channel the funds to tax friendly locations.