Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is to make a one-time payment of US$38bn in US taxes to repatriate cash held overseas following the approval of President Donald Trump’s sweeping reforms.
The iPhone maker said it would spend US$30bn in the US over the next five years, creating 20,000 new jobs.
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The company has faced backlash from politicians in the US, the European Union and the UK for its tax evasion policies. It holds US$4246bn in low-tax countries.
President Trump had criticised Apple during his election campaign for the group’s policy of building its phones and other gadgets abroad.
The new tax legislation has scrapped a previous provision that allowed companies to defer US income taxes on foreign earnings until they returned the income to the country. This led to businesses stockpiling an estimated US$3.1trn offshore.
Companies will have to pay a levy of 15.5% on overseas holdings repatriated to the US.
"We have a deep sense of responsibility to give back to our country and the people who help make our success possible," said chief executive Tom Cook.
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Apple has reportedly told employees that it will also issue stock-based bonuses worth US$2,500 each, thanks to the benefits of the new US tax law.
It has become the first major US technology company to act on the new law.
Apple did not specify how much of its cash pile it intends to repatriate.
Shares were little changed in pre-market trading at US$179 each.