Apple has evaded tens of billions of dollars in taxes earned overseas. The accusation comes from the United States Senate, which in its investigation speaks of a "complex network" of offshore entities - without employees or physical offices - used by the Cupertino giant to evade the tax authorities. And just today the CEO of the company, Tim Cook, is expected in Congress to talk about a proposal aimed at lightening the tax system and to defend the company's work.
Between 2009 and 2012 - as reported by the Washington Post citing the investigation - Apple would have hidden 74 billion dollars in profits from the eyes of the US tax authorities through the creation of branches in Ireland. While among other multinationals the practice of using foreign subsidiaries to avoid taxes in the United States is very common, the system set up by Apple (again according to the Senate) is unprecedented in complexity and creativity.
The company sought the "holy grail" of tax evasion, investigative committee chair Carl Levin attacked. “Apple claims to be one of America's largest taxpayers but it is also a major tax evader,” Senator John McCain said.
Last year, Apple's foreign sales accounted for 61% of the group's total turnover, which is not accused of violating the law, but of having elaborated a sophisticated and "outrageous" strategy to evade the tax authorities.
As anticipated by Apple, during the hearing in the Senate - which promises to be explosive - Cook will reiterate that Cupertino "does not resort to tax tricks", which is among the main US taxpayers and which has created 600 jobs in the US. Apple is also in favor of "an objective analysis of the taxation system for American companies - Cook will say - which has not kept pace with the advent of the digital age and with the rapid changes in the global economy".
According to the CEO, "the current US tax system, which uses the principles of the industrial age in the digital age, puts the country's competitiveness at risk".
