Apple: UK tax bill surges as profit passes £1bn
The amount Apple paid into the Treasury’s coffers surged to more than £300m for its latest financial year as its profit jumped to over £1bn.
The US giant paid £303.7m in UK corporation tax in the 12 months to 28 September, 2024, according to new accounts filed with Companies House.
The figure is up significantly from the £188.1m it paid out in the prior year.
The total was paid by the group’s three UK-based companies: Apple (UK), Apple Europe and Apple Retail UK.
The results for Apple (UK) show that the three companies made a combined turnover of £4.69bn for the financial year, up from £3.46bn.
They also have revealed that their total operating profits jumped from £822m to £1.15bn in the year.
While the full results for Apple (UK) have been published, the documents for the other two companies have not yet been made public.
Apple (UK)’s turnover increased in the 12 months from £666.6m to £765.9m while its pre-tax profit rose from £98.2m to £141.3m.
Overall, the US giant operates 40 stores across the UK and employs more than 7,700 members of staff.
Apple’s tax affairs ruled on
Apple’s tax affairs hit the headlines in September last year when Europe’s top court ruled that Ireland would be able to recover more than €13bn (£11.2bn) in back taxes from the US giant.
The European Court of Justice (CJEU) decision restored a 2016 European Commission ruling that Ireland gave undue tax benefits to Apple, which would be illegal under EU state aid rules.
Ireland and Apple, which say the correct amount of tax was paid, fought the commission on the matter and in July 2020 the General Court of the European Union annulled the decision.
However, the European Commission subsequently appealed against that decision to the CJEU, saying the lower court’s ruling was legally incorrect.
The CJEU agreed the General Court had “erred” in its decision and ordered the judgment should be set aside, restoring the commission’s original ruling.