Apple Pays Federal Income Tax Worth $6 Billion In 2012

Even the extremely successful Apple isn’t safe from the taxman. If anything, it’s due to pay some of the highest federal income tax in the United States.

MacRumors  has reported that Apple has paid a total of $6 Billion in federal income tax for 2012. The amount tallies up to about a fortieth of the total corporate tax collected by the United States government. That is a little above 2% from the overall total, solidifying Apple as one of the highest taxed companies in the country.

Despite its staggering federal income tax bill, Apple has been often criticized for using the legal system to cut down its federal income tax. Apple allots an estimated 70 percent of its total revenue abroad. This allows Apple to make use of foreign laws to shield itself from high United States federal income tax.

Still, Apple claims that any federal income tax exemptions it may enjoy are well within the laws of the United States government.

Apple has been reported to be one of the first corporations to utilize what is now known as the “Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich”. The method allows a company to cut down its federal income tax by coursing its profits through various European subsidiaries before returning back into the corporation. The result is a substantial decrease in owed federal income tax. Because of Apple’s success with the method, it isn’t uncommon for notable multinational corporations to use the same method to curb its own federal income tax.