Apple's Irish tax rate fell to 0.005%

A closer look

While you get physically ill looking at the deductions on your bi-weekly paystub, the world's richest corporations literally just ask governments nicely to ignore them. For over a decade, Apple funneled massive portions of its global European sales through two Irish subsidiaries. In exchange for providing local jobs, the Irish government granted them a sweetheart deal: an effective corporate tax rate that dropped to 0.005%. The European Union eventually sued them for $14 billion in illegal state aid.