The Australian Tax Office has slapped Apple with a rather juicy $28.5 million bill in terms of back taxes, and this move could very well be the start of what many believe as the government coming down hard on foreign tax havens. So far, there has been very little revealed concerning the $28.5 million tax bill since it is illegal for the ATO (Australian Taxation Office) to make any comments on individual cases. The Brisbane Times did report on Friday that the ATO could be joining a tax push that is led by European governments by targeting companies which harbor funds via intermediary companies in foreign countries.
Apple’s Australian arm is under the ownership of Apple Operations International, where this subsidiary is located in Cork, Ireland. There has been many companies that have operations in Ireland so that they can capitalize on the country’s low corporate tax rate. $28.5 million is a drop in the water for Apple though, considering how the company earned earned $4.87 billion in revenue from Australia alone last year.
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