Apple Australia Pays Only $36m in Tax on More Than $6 Billion in Local Sales

[Turk]

By John Dagge January 31, 2014 12:40PM

APPLE has cut its Australian tax bill to little more than $36 million despite hauling in a record $6.1 billion in revenue from local consumers.

It means the technology giant has paid $1 in tax to the Australian tax man for every $169 in sales.

The latest financial update from Apple's local arm comes as leaders around the world express growing frustration that multinationals are not paying their fair share of tax.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said he will use the nation's leadership of this year's G20 meeting to push for an international crackdown on tax avoidance strategies.

Apple Australia increased sales of its products by close to 2 per cent to an all-time high of $6.1 billion in the year to September.

The record sales tally is revealed in its financial report lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Despite growing sales, profit at Apple Australia plunged more than 10 per cent to a slim $88.5 million, reducing its tax bill from $40.1 million in 2012 to $36.4 million last year.

The company's "cost of sales" clocked in at $5.5 billion in the year to September.

It also paid a $154 million fully-franked dividend to its parent company in the US.

Apple, one of the most valuable companies in the world by market capitalisation, has paid $76.1 million in Australian income tax over the past two years despite earning more than $12 billion in revenue from Australian consumers.

In the US this week, the Apple group revealed it sold 51 million iPhones globally in the three months to December 28 - a record for any quarter.

But the sales tally missed the expectation of industry analysts, who had expected Apple to chalk up 54.7 million sales.

The group's shares tumbled 8 per cent in New York after the sales figures were released.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/apple-australia-pays-36m-in-tax-on-more-than-6-billion-in-local-sales/story-fni0dcne-1226814807440