The “Panama Papers” leak of 11.5 million documents from ultra-secretive Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca has already named and shamed heads of state, government officials, business owners and celebrities who reportedly evaded tax thanks to the scheme.
But one name which hasn’t been talked about too much is Apple supplier Foxconn, which is accused of evading taxes of up to a massive $22.86 billion via investments in Panama — although the company denies that this is the case.
While investing in overseas subsidiaries has, according to a new report, “always been a necessary mechanism for international trading,” Foxconn claims that it pays its rightful taxes, and reserves the right to file lawsuits against those in the media who are allegedly making up the current rumors.
Foxconn recently upped its bid to become a more crucial part of Apple’s supply chain by acquiring struggling display maker Sharp, which it hopes to use to win AMOLED panel orders for a future iPhone.
Last year was a good one for Foxconn, which raked in record revenues thanks, in part, to Apple’s massive iPhone 6s and 6s Plus sales, which Foxconn helps manufacture. The month the handset was launched, Foxconn posted revenues of $318.4 million for September alone — an increase of 17.8 percent year-on-year.
Foxconn client Apple isn’t among the companies named as the part of the Panama Papers leak, but it has had its own share of tax evasion accusations. During last year’s “Inside Apple” episode of 60 Minutes, Tim Cook labelled reports that Apple doesn’t pay its taxes as, “total political crap,” while Apple’s Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri has said that the companies pays every cent that it owes.
Via: Digitimes
