Adobe, the US technology company famous for the PDF file and creating software that has revolutionised desktop publishing and the creative industries, was highlighted in the Financial Times (12 September 2013) for using companies registered in Ireland to reduce its tax bills.
‘[Adobe System’s] creativity extends to its tax structure, which enables the company to avoid paying tens of millions of dollars in corporate taxes every year ... By establishing two companies registered in low-tax Ireland, Adobe slashed its tax bill on $2.1bn profits earned outside the US over the three years to the end of December 2012 to $144m, giving it an effective tax rate of 6.9%. During this period the company paid $527.1m in US federal taxes on $1bn in profits – an effective tax rate of 52%’, reported the newspaper, before adding that ‘the ability of companies such as Adobe to generate business in relatively high tax countries without establishing a tax base – known as a “permanent establishment” or PE – is an issue of concern for the OECD.’
Adobe, the US technology company famous for the PDF file and creating software that has revolutionised desktop publishing and the creative industries, was highlighted in the Financial Times (12 September 2013) for using companies registered in Ireland to reduce its tax bills.
‘[Adobe System’s] creativity extends to its tax structure, which enables the company to avoid paying tens of millions of dollars in corporate taxes every year ... By establishing two companies registered in low-tax Ireland, Adobe slashed its tax bill on $2.1bn profits earned outside the US over the three years to the end of December 2012 to $144m, giving it an effective tax rate of 6.9%. During this period the company paid $527.1m in US federal taxes on $1bn in profits – an effective tax rate of 52%’, reported the newspaper, before adding that ‘the ability of companies such as Adobe to generate business in relatively high tax countries without establishing a tax base – known as a “permanent establishment” or PE – is an issue of concern for the OECD.’