Microsoft Ireland MD Paul Rellis.
And you thought they were here for the weather?
Using complex schemes to shift U.S. revenue overseas, Microsoft was able to avoid paying taxes on $21 billion in revenue between 2009 and 2011, amounting to about half its total U.S. sales, according to the subcommittee report. The company avoided paying $4.5 billion in taxes, or about $4 million per day, during that time, according to the report.
Using similar schemes, Apple avoided taxes on $34.5 billion between 2009 and 2011, and Google has dodged taxes on $24 billion.
Nice.
Tech Firms Find Havens From US Taxes (San Fransisco Chronicle)
US Senate panel slams Microsoft’s ‘tax gimmickry’ in Ireland, Singapore and Puerto Rico (FinFacts)