The Paradise Pap ers released by the International Cons orti um of Investi g ative Journal ists (IC I J) have expos ed the cle ver tax avoid ance sch emes of global corpor ations such as Apple and Nike , and have sho cked the international community .
According to AFP news agency , the Paradise documents document surpr ising facts about Apple ' s tax strategy prior to 2014. It has emer ged that the company was cle ver ly explo iting the Irish tax system to significant ly reduce its tax bur den by cred iting its operating reven ues ear ned outside the United States in Ireland .
Ireland is one of the " tax hav ens , " known for its low corpor ate tax rates . By lever aging this tax incenti ve to optimi ze its international revenue distribution , Apple was dep lo ying a tax strategy that was both legal and ethi c ally questi onable .
Sport ing goods gi ant Nike is also one of the companies whose name was mentioned in the Paradise Pap ers . The company had created a structure to reduce its tax bur den by setting up a subsidi ary in Ber muda to manage the intelle ctual property rights of its brand s .
As these facts came to light , the affected companies issued a series of stat ements . Apple claims that it " com pli es with all tax - related laws and regulations , " while Nike counter ed that it also " ab ides by international tax practices . " However , many experts have raised questions about the view that such corpor ate actions are not " tax avoid ance " but rather " tax optimiz ation . "
Follow ing the publication of the Paradise Pap ers , govern ments in the EU , the United States and other countries have beg un to consider strength ening tax avoid ance measures for multin ational corpor ations . In particular , there is an urgent need for international rules on how tax ation should be done in the digital economy .
The Organization for Economic Cooper ation and Development (OECD) is re vie wing international tax rules through the " T ax Er osion and Pro fit Shi ft ing (BE PS) " project . In 2021, more than 130 agreements have result ed in a histor ic agreement to set a minimum corpor ate tax rate of 15%, but the facts revealed in the Paradise Document have once again high light ed the importance of such international efforts .
Among tax experts , the importance of an ethi cal tax strategy in terms of corpor ate social responsibility (CS R) is increasing . There is a growing recogn ition that not only is it law ful , but that companies paying a fair tax bur den to society is essential to creating a sustainable business environment .
As ES G (En vironment al , Social , and Govern ance) invest ments become main stream , corpor ate tax strategi es have become one of the key investment jud gement criteria . Many institution al investors have shown mov es to increase investment from tax - avo id ant companies , which is also starting to affect corpor ate value .
Me anw hile , there is also a growing sense of ethi cal consumption among consumers , and there is a growing movement to support companies that adopt fair tax practices . The social reput ation of companies has also been great ly affected , with campa ig ns being launched to boy cott the products of tax avoid ance companies , especially on social media .
[ Global Times US Cor respond ent So da , Global Times US Cor respond ent Chen Xin ]
Release date: 2025-12-07 05:52:34
