But they have the accounts of the local subsidiary. And that local subsidiary either makes a profit or not.
And, the company is taxed in each country of operations, for relevant operations.
The subsidiary will usually have accounts that have costs like salary and premises, and no direct revenues, just a big cash transfer to fund the costs from the parent company.
The main reason why subsidiaries are set up is to enter a market and sell stuff. The main reason tax is discussed is because sales/revenue/profit is generated in one place.
And they do set up arbitrary prices within the limits of anti-dumping laws. But then again, someone somewhere will tax something.
>no direct revenues, just a big cash transfer to fund the costs from the parent company
In Apple (and many others' case), the local subsidiary has revenue. They actually bill consumers and collect payments.
Sure, and if it did, the parent would make a massive profit they would have to pay taxes on.
Someone at some point has to pay taxes on the profits. Apple just pressured Ireland into looking the other way and granting a tax scheme that is not actually valid and the EC has corrected that by pointing out Apple failed to pay taxes it legally owed.