The largest U.S. technology companies – from Amazon to Facebook – have come under fire for not paying what some believe is their fair share in taxes, and a new study says the companies may be paying even less in corporate taxes than what has been reported.
The six Silicon Valley giants – Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Netflix, Google and Microsoft – contributed to a combined tax gap of $100 billion over the past decade, a new study conducted by Fair Tax Mark found.
The tax gap refers to the difference between companies’ tax provisions (what a company states that it expects to pay) versus the amounts actually paid in cash taxes to the government. Between 2010 and 2019, the gap between provisions and cash taxes was $100.2 billion cumulatively among the six companies.
“We conclude that the corporation tax paid has been much lower than is commonly understood,” Fair Tax Mark chief executive Paul Monaghan said in a statement.
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Researchers noted that the companies continued to shift profits through tax havens – like Bermuda and Luxembourg. The bulk of the shortfall, they suggest, likely arose from outside of the U.S.
One common strategy companies have been said to use is the “Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich,” which is an international tax evasion strategy that involves channeling profits first through an Irish company, then through a Dutch company, and then to another Irish subsidiary headquartered in a location – like Bermuda —with lower or no income taxes. The method uses features of the various countries’ tax codes to dramatically reduce tax burdens.
The report is based on annual 10-K filings in the U.S. It looked at tax payments from 2010 through 2019.
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In a ranking of the six, Fair Tax Mark credited Amazon as having the poorest tax conduct, reporting the company has paid just $3.4 billion in income taxes since 2010. Amazon’s cash taxes paid are said to amount to just 12.7 percent of profits over the decade, despite the fact the U.S. headline tax rate was 35 percent for the majority of that time.
The company did not return FOX Business’ request for comment.
Facebook ranked second, having the lowest foreign current tax charge ratio of all six companies – at just 5 percent of profits.
Facebook has been contacted for comment.
Google was next, as researchers said its cash tax paid was 15.8 percent of profits.
A spokesperson for Google told FOX Business the report’s “interpretation” of how it pays taxes “ignores the reality of today's complicated international tax system, and distorts the facts documented in our regulatory filings.”