Accused of dodging taxes, Apple strikes back with a public statement

Reports about their tax practices have caused the Cupertino-based company to come forth to defend themselves, by issuing a public statement, confirms AppleInsider. The company defends itself by saying that they have created numerous job opportunities, and that their major workforce is in the U.S. The report further stated that the company pays ‘enormous amount’ to governments of various countries. A previous report claimed how Apple sidesteps billions of dollars in taxes. Elaborating further, the report stated that Apple has an office in Reno, which is just 200 miles away from its headquarters, Cupertino, California, to collect and invest its profits. By doing this, the company avoids paying California's 8.84 percent state income tax on gains.

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Apple neither runs its Customer Service from Reno, nor its device manufactured around the place. "Setting up an office in Reno is just one of many legal methods Apple uses to reduce its worldwide tax bill by billions of dollars each year," the report by Charles Duhigg and David Kocieniewski said. "As it has in Nevada, Apple has created subsidiaries in low-taxes places like Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and the British Virgin Islands — some little more than a letterbox or an anonymous office — that help cut the taxes it pays around the world." There was another report from Daily Mail, which states that Apple's use of a headquarters in Cork, Ireland, allows paying about half the tax than it would have to in the UK. Further the report said that, Apple has an offshoot based out of the Caribbean, where tax rates are favorable in the British Virgin Islands.

Apple defends saying that the company has created numerous jobs in the U.S and majority of the company’s workforce is in the U.S, where it claims to have more than 47,000 employees. "By focusing on innovation, we've created entirely new products and industries, and more than 500,000 jobs for U.S. workers — from the people who create components for our products to the people who deliver them to our customers," Apple's statement reads. "Apple's international growth is creating jobs domestically since we oversee most of our operations from California."

Apple also states that they have been contributing to many charitable causes without making any public announcements. “In 2011, we dramatically expanded the number of deserving organizations we support by initiating a matching gift program for our employees. Apple has conducted all of its business with the highest of ethical standards, complying with applicable laws and accounting rules. We are incredibly proud of all of Apple’s contributions,” revealed the statement.