Apple, Nike, Lewis Hamilton probed over offshore deals

WASHINGTON:- New revelations on Monday from the “Paradise Papers” shed light on Apple’s tax avoidance strategy which shifted profits from one fiscal haven to another as well as loopholes employed by Nike and Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton.

They are the latest disclosures from a trove of documents released by the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) concerning secretive offshore deals that have proved deeply embarrassing.

According to documents cited by the New York Times and BBC, the offshore legal services firm Appleby helped the iPhone maker shift tens of billions of dollars from Ireland to the Channel Islands when it appeared to face a tougher stand on taxes by Dublin.

The report said Apple transferred funds to the small island of Jersey, which typically does not tax corporate income and is largely exempt from European Union tax regulations.

Apple did not immediately respond to an AFP query on the report but told the New York Times it follows the law in each country where it operates.

At a 2013 congressional hearing, Apple chief Tim Cook denied the use of “gimmicks” to avoid taxes.

The company is now facing an EU demand for about US$14.5 billion (RM61 billion) in taxes based on a ruling that its tax structure in Ireland amounted to illegal state aid.

The BBC and Guardian newspaper reported Hamilton avoided paying taxes on his private jet using an elaborate scheme now under investigation by British tax authorities.

The leaked documents showed the driver received a £3.3 million (RM18.6 million) tax refund in 2013 after his luxury plane was imported into the Isle of Man – a low-tax British Crown Dependency.

Representatives for Hamilton could not be reached for comment.

A separate report appearing in France’s Le Monde said Nike used a loophole in Dutch fiscal law to reduce its tax rate in Europe to just 2% compared with a 25% average for European companies.

The tax savings came from Nike’s use of an offshore subsidiary which charged royalties to the company’s European subsidiaries, the report said. – AFP