Apple paid Ireland $17bn in taxes last year, representing 40 % of its worldwide total, after the EU’s top court in 2024 ordered the company to pay €13bn in back taxes for “unlawful aid” that had pushed its effective rate below 1 %. Apple’s global corporate income taxes reached $43bn.

Ireland’s 12.5 % corporate rate has attracted major firms; three companies—widely believed to be Eli Lilly, Apple, and Microsoft—paid almost half of all corporation tax collected in 2024. A quarter of Apple’s global pre‑tax profit was booked through its Irish entities, where it employs 5,575 people, generating $6 mn profit per employee versus $51 k in Germany, where it paid $153 mn in cash taxes.

New EU country‑by‑country reporting rules expose such gaps, giving campaigners fresh leverage while companies claim the data is misleading. Microsoft reported 38 % of its global pre‑tax profit in Ireland, over $7 mn per employee. Procter & Gamble showed $115 mn profit and no tax in Luxembourg with a single employee. Australia and the US are moving toward similar disclosures.