The first subsidiary, Adobe Software Trading Company, made a pre-tax profit of $407m ( 285m) yet paid only $2.1m ( 1.47m) in Irish corporation tax . . . an effective rate of 0.5%.

The second company, Adobe Systems Software Ireland, made a pre-tax profit of $36.3m ( 25.4m) and paid $2.9m ( 2m) in corporation tax, giving it an effective tax rate of 7.9%.

According to their accounts, both companies are involved in the licensing, production and distribution of Adobe products, which include Photoshop, InDesign and Acrobat, outside the US but neither provides a geographical analysis of their turnover because "such disclosure would be seriously prejudicial to the group's competitive position".

Adobe Software Trading Company, which has its registered office in Barbados, employs 1,246 people but it is unclear where these employees are based. Adobe Systems Software Ireland, which has an Irish address, had 68 employees at the end of last year.

Adobe did not respond when contacted for comment.

However, Sheila Killian, a finance lecturer at the University of Limerick, said the companies were structured with tax considerations in mind.

"Since the company has a HQ based in Bermuda, it's reasonable to assume it's carefully chosen the geographical locations in which it operates so as to minimise its overall tax liability, " she said.

Killian also said the financial position of the companies was almost impossible to ascertain from their accounts.

"Most of the creditors from the Irish company are parent and subsidiary undertakings. This is a group that trades extensively within itself, and since it doesn't report a geographical breakdown, this makes it very difficult for anyone to see what exactly is going on."