Apple denies tax ‘gimmicks’ as criticism mounts

“We pay all the taxes we owe — every single dollar,” Cook said. “We don’t depend on tax gimmicks.’’

Cook,who is more accustomed to commanding a stage in front of investors and techies than facing a congressional committee,took a defensive tone with his opening statement. He punched out words when stressing the 600,000 jobs that the company supports while adding that Apple is the nation’s largest corporate taxpayer. Cook advocated an overhaul of the US tax code.

At the same time,Cook said he was happy to appear in the spotlight of a congressional hearing to be able to give Apple’s side of the story.

“I’m saying it’s who we are as people. … Wherever we are,we’re an American company,’’ Cook insisted when asked about Apple’s use of affiliate companies in Ireland.

The $6 billion in taxes that Apple says it paid in fiscal 2012 works out to $16 million a day.

The subcommittee’s report estimates that Apple avoided at least $3.5 billion in US federal taxes in 2011 and $9 billion in 2012 by using its tax strategy,and described a complex setup involving Irish subsidiaries as being a key element of this strategy.

But Cook said the Irish subsidiaries don’t reduce the company’s US taxes at all. Rather,they manage cash earned overseas.

If that cash were to be repatriated to the US,it would be subject to US taxes.

Like other MNCs,Apple choses to keep cash overseas so as not to pay the 35 per cent US corporate tax rate. Apple is holding overseas $102 billion of its total $145 billion in cash.

Cook reaffirmed Apple’s position that given current US tax rates,it has no intention of repatriating its overseas profits to the US. He appeared with Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer and Head of Tax Operations Phillip Bullock.

Senator Carl Levin,the panel’s chairman,said Apple’s use of loopholes in the US tax code is unique among multinational corporations.