Ireland’s Microsoft paid zero corporate tax on £220 billion in profits last year

The United States has proposed solving the problem of profit shifting to low-tax countries by introducing a global corporate tax rate of at least 15% on profits of multinational corporations in all jurisdictions. is expected Approved in principle by finance ministers The world’s seven largest economies at the G7 meeting. However, on Thursday Cyprus, which has a corporate tax rate of 12.5%, like Ireland, has threatened a veto by the European Union of President Joe Biden’s proposal..

Politicians on both sides of the Irish Sea have attacked Microsoft for “brazenly and openly rejecting”.[ing] He said the case underlined why urgent coordinated international action was needed to deal with the “unethical, unethical and unjustified” epidemic of tax evasion by multinational corporations.

Microsoft Round Island One, His address is registered with the law firm of Matheson, on the River Liffey in central Dublin, states in its accounts that “there are no employees, but managers”. “Because the company is a tax resident in Bermuda, no income tax is charged,” the tax return says. Bermuda does not impose a corporate tax.

The company paid a $24.5 billion dividend to Microsoft Corporation during the fiscal year, followed by a $30.5 billion special dividend.

Margaret Hodge, a Labor MP and longtime tax evader, said: “It is not surprising – but still shocking – that very wealthy global corporations openly, brazenly and honestly refuse to pay tax on the profits they make in the countries in which they operate. …w.doing business.

“This arrogant behavior by big organizations like Microsoft shows how important and necessary President Biden’s global tax plan is. Britain should unreservedly seize this opportunity to embrace Biden’s proposals.”

Jed Nash, a financial spokesman for the opposition Irish Labor Party, described Microsoft’s implementation of Ireland’s liberal tax laws as “exceptional”.

“The system that allows such systems to exist is immoral, immoral, unjustified and requires fundamental change,” he said. “This does not appeal to Irish citizens and does not suit me well. This should lead Ireland and the international community to demand a global demand for significant corporate tax reform.”

Nash said that Microsoft was a good employer in Ireland, but that this should not give the company a license to use ambiguous tax structures. “For reputation’s sake it’s very, very bad for Ireland.”

The US Senate previously investigated Microsoft and Ireland about the use of Microsoft Round Island One and other Irish affiliates to reduce taxes that might be owed in the US or elsewhere. .

Former Senator Carl Levine, who served as chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said in 2012 that Microsoft and other technology companies “may have been the first users of these third parties to transfer intellectual property.” Committee said In the 1990s, Microsoft began building a “complex network of interconnected foreign entities to facilitate international sales and lower taxes”.

A company spokesperson said: “Microsoft has been working and investing in Ireland for more than 35 years and has been a long-time taxpayer, employer and participant in the economy. Our regulatory and tax structure reflects our complex global business. The laws and regulations in the countries in which we operate.”

Paul Monaghan, CEO of tax transparency campaign group, the Fair Tax Foundation, said: “The tax aggression that Microsoft provides and facilitates by Ireland is incredible.

Here we have a holding company that made a profit of $314.7 billion, which is just below Ireland’s GDP. Despite paying a dividend of $55 billion to shareholders, a percentage of the taxes was not paid.

“This race to the bottom of tax rivalry is truly distasteful, especially at a time when countries around the world are trying to rebuild their public services after Covid. A respectable and accountable nation-state can no longer be defended as it proclaims its democratic right to produce CFCs. Fluorine or lead additives, outstripping their effect on the rest of the world.The same goes for enabling tax evasion and tax evasion, two of the toxic pollutants of the world’s financial systems.

Conor O’Neill of Christian Aid Ireland said the disclosure of Microsoft’s tax affairs highlighted Ireland’s tax policy, which “was specifically designed to facilitate this kind of evasion”.

“next one [Irish] Governments have taken a knockout approach to reform: if one program stops, another will open up to replace it. Extensive tax breaks and credits still enable some of the world’s most profitable companies to shift profits through Ireland and protect them from tax, and this remains a key policy to facilitate tax evasion.”

Known tax evasion costs developing countries more than $400 billion annually, O’Neill said, much-needed money for investment in health care and education. “By comparison, this is more than double the annual amount of official foreign aid provided worldwide,” he said. “For this reason, Ireland’s role is doubly disappointing – our hard-earned reputation as defenders of global justice and development has been undermined.”

Justin Thacker, Director of Tax Justice Actions at the Church, said: “The way large multinational corporations engage in tax evasion around the world is a moral and social scandal. More than 10,000 people die every day from Covid around the world. But it still continues, And our biggest companies are evading taxes. This money can be used to solve this pandemic in any country in the world. So if we really want to make a better recovery, we can start by reforming our global tax system to ensure everyone pays their fair share.”

American tech giants known as the Silicon Six – Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, owner of Google, Alphabet, Netflix and Apple – They have been accused of paying $96 billion less in taxes over the past decade One of the numbers they mention in their annual financial statements.

The Guardian reported this week that companies have paid $219 billion in income tax over the past decade, i.e. It represents 3.6% of its total revenue of over $6 trillion. Trilliontry. Income tax is paid on earnings, but researchers say Silicon Six companies are intentionally shifting their income to lower tax areas to pay lower taxes.