Apple’s Irish tax scheme a ‘fraud’ Economist: Apple must pay more

Nobel prize winner Joseph Stiglitz says Apple ought to end tax wheeze

Apple has long battled suggestions that its tax structure is underhand. But that task may be harder now that a Nobel-winning economist has called the firm’s Irish tax arrangements “fraud”.

Joseph Stiglitz, a Columbia University professor and former World Bank chief economist, was talking to Bloomberg TV. He said: “Here we have the largest corporation in capitalisation not only in America, but in the world… and claiming that most of its profits originate from about a few hundred people working in Ireland – that’s a fraud”.

Ireland’s corporation tax rate of 12.5% is lower than the 35% in the US. However, Apple is thought to be benefitting from a ‘sweetheart’ deal with the Irish government that sees it paying just 2%.

The European Commission is currently investigating whether such a deal would constitute illegal state aid – Apple could owe an estimated $8bn in owed taxes if the commission decides that’s the case.

However, Tim Cook has said Apple is the largest taxpayer in the world and pays every cent it owes. He previously described the US tax code as “awful for America” and “made for the industrial age”.