The ‘Apple tax‘, named after the tech giant, is aimed at bringing corporate offshore cash piles into the scope of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
However, the corporate tax has also captured a number of expats who either own stakes in foreign businesses or pay themselves through a company for tax purposes.
“This is a punitive tax,” the adviser told International Adviser.
“We’ve have been talking to clients about this issue. We are looking at ways to minimise the tax – it is a work in progress.”
The principle being looked at, in collaboration with US-based accountants, is to set up or associate with a US company which then invoices the foreign company – effectively shifting the profits.
“It depends on the client – if you are in one country, outside the US, then this isn’t for you,” he added. “However, we’ve got a lot of people interested.
“In many cases, there aren’t great sums involved; €70,000 ($84,000 £61,000) held in a corporate account built up over 15 years of work, which results in a significant increase in taxes.”
In the wake of the tax, the intended target, Apple, has pledged to bring its huge cash reserves onshore.
