Gewinnverlagerung: Apple spart offenbar 2,7 Milliarden Dollar Steuern in Singapur

Apple has reportedly reduced its tax burden by $2.7 billion this year through filing profits through Singapore, according to the Financial Times. The report cites figures presented by Apple alongside its annual report this week. The company utilized Singapore's tax incentives, planning to accrue profits of up to $50 billion by 2026 via its Asian center.

In Ireland, Apple's European headquarters, the firm saved $2.6 billion. Altogether, the iPhone manufacturer avoided around $5 billion in taxes, according to the FT. Had Apple taxed its global profits at the U.S. federal rate of 21 percent, around $33 billion would have been owed. Singapore's largest subsidiary is a distribution and marketing center that sells Apple products and services to overseas Apple companies and develops intellectual property, as per the financial statements.

Across its two main Singapore operations, Apple earned about $9 million in pre-tax profit per employee in 2024, significantly higher than in other countries where Apple maintains locations. The tax avoidance strategy for Apple includes profit shifting, where multinational companies move profits to countries with lower tax burdens.

This enables the company to show lower profits in the countries where it produces or sells, leading to less taxation there. The OECD has been working to prevent tax avoidance for years, resulting in a landmark tax reform in 136 OECD countries in October 2021 that set an effective minimum corporate tax rate of 15 percent for large multinationals.

Both Ireland and Singapore have joined the OECD's efforts against tax avoidance. Singapore introduced OECD rules for fiscal years starting in 2025, with no corporate tax and a standard corporate tax rate of 17 percent, higher than the global minimum tax rate. However, companies can negotiate tax incentives that lower the corporate tax rate.

New U.S. accounting regulations now require Apple to disclose its taxation in Singapore. According to Apple's filings, the company benefited from agreements reducing its corporate tax rate, with an effective tax rate of about 10 percent in Singapore from 2023 to 2025. Apple has faced criticism for using offshore centers to lower taxes.

The company had to pay over €13 billion in taxes, including interest, following a controversial EU anti-dumping investigation in 2016 that uncovered illegal tax benefits in Ireland.