Apple's UK retail division paid only £796,000 tax last year despite sales of £971.5million.

Figures in its latest annual results, filed at Companies House, show after accounting for costs and expenses the computing giant stated a pre-tax profit of £38.2m.

The Times reports Apple Retail UK minimised its tax bill by £9.2m after an increase in its share price led to a £30.3m share-based payout to employees, which is a tax deductible expense.

The company has 38 shops in the UK and employs 6,459 people here.

The US tech giant is one of the world's largest companies with a value of more than £1.3trillion. It paid £25m in dividends to its directors last year.

It is not the only US tech company to make billions in sales but pay so little in corporation tax to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

UK tax laws allow billions in sales to bypass UK service subsidiaries and be funnelled to European head offices in more tax-friendly locations such as Luxembourg.

A spokesman for Apple said: "As the largest taxpayer in the world, we know the important role taxes play in society and always pay all that we owe everywhere we operate.

"In addition to our tax payments, we are proud to be an engine of growth in the UK supporting more than 450,000 jobs across the country."

Retail Gazette reports that Apple (UK), a subsidiary providing technical services to other parts of the Apple business, paid £7.1m tax on profits of £50.7m last year.

Apple Europe, a third subsidiary encompassing sales made online and through other retailers in the UK and across Europe, paid £102m of tax on profits of £646m.

The company extracted £559m of dividends from its three UK-registered entities last year.