Of course it couldn't possibly be the self centered greed of the foreign multinationals,now could it?, which is holding this country back.
The Australian government has hit out at technology giant Apple, after its local results revealed it slashed its tax bill to $40 million, despite boosting revenue to $6 billion.
The figures covering Apple’s local results during financial year 2012 were submitted to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission late last week.
According to the filing, Apple increased its revenues from $4.9 billion in FY11 to $6 billion in FY12. But it claimed net profits fell to $58.5 million in the same period, resulting in a tax bill of $40 million.
By comparison Australian retail chain Harvey Norman earned less in revenue ($1.4 billion) while paying more in taxes ($51 million) over the same period.
The local figures come as politicians and tax authorities investigate ways to stop large tech companies from shipping profits made in Australia offshore using complex tax arrangements. These transfer the profits made in Australia to countries such as Ireland or Luxembourg that have lower levels of taxation.
The tax minimisaion isn't just the domain of the tech companys,bhp uses a lower taxing jurisdiction in KL,to minimise its tax obligations in Australia.
