Consumer electronics giant Apple paid no income tax to Inland Revenue over the past decade despite selling billions of dollars worth of iPhones and iPads to New Zealanders.

The revelations about Apple's local tax bill - in addition to international concerns about its use of havens such as Ireland - have sparked concerns a recently announced government crackdown on multinational tax avoidance may not go far enough.

"It is absolutely extraordinary that they are able to get away with paying zero tax in this country. I really like Apple products - they're incredibly innovative - but it looks like their tax department is even more innovative than their product designers," Shaw said.

New Zealanders are avid Apple consumers - especially of its high-end iPhone handsets - and the company accounted for a quarter of the local smartphone market last year.

The Weekend Herald analysis of Apple's accounts was broadly accepted by experts former Inland Revenue adviser Andrea Black, senior lecturer at Massey University Deborah Russell and Auckland University professor Michael Littlewood.

Apple's New Zealand operations are wholly owned by an Australian parent and appear to be run from there. A tax treaty between the two countries sees dual claims on income tax default to where the company is controlled.

And last year the European Union took a dim view of Apple's Irish operations, punishing the company with a record $20b tax bill after concluding that it had used the territory to improperly pay a tax rate of just 2 per cent on its international earnings.

Source: nzherald