From - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22600984
Apple has been accused of being "among America's largest tax avoiders".
A Senate committee said Apple had used "a complex web of offshore entities" to avoid paying billions of dollars in US income taxes. But it said there was no indication the firm acted illegally.
Apple chief Tim Cook will go before the panel on Tuesday. In prepared testimony Apple said it did not use tax gimmicks.
The Irish Republic, home to three Apple subsidiaries, says it is not to blame for the firm's low tax payments.
The US Senate had said that Apple paid little or nothing on billions of dollars in profits placed in Irish subsidiaries.
"They are not issues that arise from the Irish taxation system," Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore told national broadcaster RTE when asked about the Senate committee report.
"They are issues that arise from the taxation systems in other jurisdictions and that is an issue that has to be addressed first of all in those jurisdictions."
Apple has a cash stockpile of $145bn (£95bn), but the Senate committee said $102bn of this was held offshore.
The company says it is one of the largest taxpayers in the US, having paid $6bn in federal corporate income tax in the 2012 fiscal year.
The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has been examining "methods employed by multinational corporations to shift profits offshore".
Some large firms in the US have come under fire for their reluctance to repatriate their foreign earnings as they could face a top tax rate of 35%.
US corporation tax is one of the highest in the world at 35%. However, companies typically pay far less, thanks to numerous deductions and exemptions.
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