Apple paid only 0.7% of turnover as tax in Australia: report

An Australian investigation into technology company Apple has come up with details of just how many billions of dollars the global giant had allegedly shifted in profits around the world to minimise its tax.

According to the analysis by The Australian Financial Review, while Australians had bought $27 billion worth of Apple products since 2002, the company had paid only $193 million to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) - just 0.7 per cent of its turnover.

According to the projections of the newspaper, around $9 billion in profit had been shifted offshore to minimise taxation.

Ting had long been investigating how companies including Apple, Microsoft and Google exploited tax laws to their advantage.

He explained that for a $600 iPad in Australia, $550 was paid to Apple Ireland and out of the $550, $220 was not taxed anywhere in the world.

He added that meant around 40 per cent of the payments made on buying Apple products in Australia had escaped Australian tax and at the same time escaped tax anywhere in the world.

The Australian Financial Review, which obtained 10 years worth of financial accounts for Apple Sales International claimed an estimated Australian $8.9 billion in untaxed profits from Australia had been moved to a tax haven structure in Ireland, paying just 0.7 per cent of its turnover in tax.

The iPhone maker last year, reported pre-tax earnings in Australia of only Australian $88.5 million after it sent an estimated Australian $2 billion from its Australian sales to Ireland via Singapore, it reported.

The report comes after last month's G20 finance ministers meeting in Sydney that agreed to new measures for a crackdown on international tax evasion, including the automatic exchange of information between member nations.

This comes as concerns mount that companies, particularly those involved in the digital and internet sectors, could cut their tax bills by shifting profits around the world to areas where rates were lowest.