Azernews.Az

Ulviyya Poladova

Read more

Apple saved $2.7 billion in taxes in 2026 by booking profits in Singapore.

According to the Financial Times (FT), new financial disclosure requirements have come into force in the United States, obliging American companies to disclose when the tax rate applied to their foreign profits differs from the US federal corporate tax rate of 21%.

Singapore has become Apple's main tax haven. In 2026, the US technology giant recorded $50 billion in profits there, saving $2.7 billion in taxes compared with what it would have paid under the US tax rate. Singapore overtook Ireland, where Apple saved $2.6 billion.

Overall, Apple paid $27 billion in taxes in 2026, compared with approximately $33 billion it would have owed at the US federal rate.

Singapore has already begun imposing additional taxes on Apple under the global agreement on a minimum corporate tax rate of 15%, reached in 2021 under the auspices of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In the 2026 financial year, additional tax assessments in Singapore amounted to $2.5 billion. Even after these charges, however, Apple retained substantial tax advantages.

Apple has previously faced scrutiny from European regulators over tax benefits it received in Ireland. In 2016, the European Commission ruled that the company had benefited from illegal state aid in the form of preferential tax arrangements. In 2024, the European Court of Justice upheld the decision, requiring Ireland to recover more than €13 billion in unpaid taxes from Apple.

Despite international efforts to curb tax avoidance, major technology companies continue to benefit significantly from booking profits in jurisdictions with favourable tax regimes.