Corporate tax disclosures reveal gulf between payments by tech giants and other multinationals

The State’s reliance on a select number of multinationals for tens of billions of euro of corporation tax receipts has been exposed in filings newly published by Irish authorities, showing Apple and Microsoft accounted for 98 per cent of the total.Reports published by the Companies Registration Office (CRO) show 25 firms have disclosed combined Irish cash-tax payments of €20.1 billion under new European Union transparency rules.An Irish Times analysis of the country-by-country reports found that 18 of the remaining companies – including Accenture, Bank of America, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Harvey Norman – contributed between six- and nine-figure sums totalling approximately €388 million between them. Five firms paid less than €100,000.Soaring energy costs and why ‘we can’t protect everyone from the impact of war’The filings cover overlapping financial periods. The earliest reporting period began in June 2024 and the latest ended in January 2026. That means the filings relate to a 19-month span.READ MOREThe State collected approximately €60 billion in net corporation-tax receipts during that period from July 2024 to January 2026. The data has been published by multinationals due to the new European Union country-by-country reporting directive. It mandates multinationals with global revenues of more than €750 million to disclose specific financial data, including how much tax was paid in EU states and their pretax profits.The CRO has published 32 individual company reports to date. None of the pharma firms with large operations in the Republic, which are understood to be significant contributors to corporation tax receipts, have filed the reports yet. Weight loss drug giant Eli Lilly previously said it paid a $6.6 billion Irish corporation tax bill in 2025.An analysis of the 32 disclosures by The Irish Times has shown 25 companies reported paying tax in the period. Three reported negative balances, which would indicate refunds or adjustments, and three recorded no cash tax payment. A cash tax payment refers to money having been paid, as opposed to a tax liability. Belfast-based agribusiness W&R Barnett filed a report but availed of an exemption to withhold a figure for tax paid.Most of the firms reported Irish taxes paid in US dollars, with $17.1 billion (€14.9 billion) linked to Apple and $5.6 billion (€4.9 billion) paid by Microsoft.[ Ireland’s corporate tax advantage is over. So what’s the plan?Opens in new window ]Consultancy firm Accenture, which has more than 5,200 staff in the Republic, recorded the third-largest tax bill in the group of 32 firms. It paid $303.4 million (€265 million) in tax in 2025.Bank of America Corporation paid $90.6 million (€79 million) in Irish taxes in the same year, followed by retail company Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc, which said it paid $20.1 million (€17.6 million) in tax. Harvey Norman paid €210,436, while Sazerac Company, the drinks firm behind many brands like Southern Comfort, paid €3 million.