Apple evades $70 mn in taxes in China: Official report

China has slapped USD 70 million tax on US tech giant Apple's local subsidiary, accusing it of underwriting some of the expenses. Apple Computer Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd in China failed to pay 452 million yuan (over USD 70 million) in due taxes by the end of 2013, an official accounting inspection report showed.

It included maintenance costs into pre-tax deductions, wracking up the giant deficit, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said in the report yesterday. But the California-based tech company has paid back the taxes and 65 million yuan in late fees, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The firm also under-reported 8.8 billion yuan of revenue and 3.45 billion of costs and overstated 5.35 billion yuan of profit, the report showed.

The problem was discovered along with violations of rules in other state-owned, private and foreign companies after the MOF inspected on accounting information for tens of thousands of firms across the country. The MOF said it has imposed penalties on related enterprises and accounting firms and asked them to rectify their irregularities. Apple's products are hugely popular in China, where long-queues outside Apple stores are often seen whenever a new product is launched.

The Greater China region -- which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan -- is Apple's second-largest market after the Americas and its iPhone market grew 75 percent in China year-on-year, Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced yesterday.