“The Security and Exchange Commission is serious about going after Apple’s off-shore cash,” Marc Strausberg reports for TheStreet.
“Accounting Branch Chief Kathleen Collins, in a Letter of Comment to Apple’s in-house counsel, shows the regulator is challenging the company’s aggressive accounting policies that protect about $16 billion of offshore cash from taxation by the Internal Revenue Service,” Strausberg reports. “The letter questions the details of Apple’s plans for the use of its rapidly growing offshore cash holdings: ‘Your financial statements indicate that you provide for any related tax liability on cash that may be repatriated. Please explain to us how the phrase may be repatriated should be interpreted in this context. We note that Tim Cook, the company’s chief executive officer, stated in testimony before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate on May 21, 2013, that you have no plans to repatriate these earnings at the current tax rate.'”
“The general subject of investigating tax avoidance has been under investigation by the Senate’s permanent subcommittee on investigations chaired by Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan,” Strausberg reports. “What the subcommittee finds out could easily lead Congress to make changes to the U.S. tax code that could enable the IRS to get its hands on some of Apple’s non-taxed cash.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The U.S. corporate tax rate is obviously way too high.
Under the current U.S. corporate tax system, it would be very expensive to repatriate that cash. Unfortunately, the tax code has not kept up with the digital age. The tax system handicaps American corporations in relation to our foreign competitors who don’t have such constraints on the free flow of capital… Apple has always believed in the simple, not the complex. You can see it in our products and the way we conduct ourselves. It is in this spirit that we recommend a dramatic simplification of the corporate tax code. This reform should be revenue neutral, eliminate all corporate tax expenditures, lower corporate income tax rates and implement a reasonable tax on foreign earnings that allows the free flow of capital back to the U.S. We make this recommendation with our eyes wide open, realizing this would likely increase Apple’s U.S. taxes. But we strongly believe such comprehensive reform would be fair to all taxpayers, would keep America globally competitive and would promote U.S. economic growth. – Apple CEO Tim Cook, May 21, 2013
Related articles:
Is the 35% U.S. corporate tax rate hurting America’s economy? – April 9, 2014
Senators Levin, McCain say Ireland faces questions even as Apple tax loophole tightened – October 16, 2013
Ireland to close Apple’s tax loophole, but leave bigger one open – October 15, 2013
U.S. SEC ends review of Apple taxes, overseas cash – October 5, 2013
Obama, world leaders push big companies like Apple, Google to pay more taxes – September 6, 2013
G20 think tank OECD proposes blueprint for global crackdown on tax avoidance – July 19, 2013
Apple again faces scrutiny after paying no UK corporate taxes for 2012 – July 1, 2013
Bloomberg News’ awful reporting on Apple’s U.S. corporate taxes – May 30, 2013
Thomas Sowell on Apple, corporate taxes, and ‘the road to serfdom’ – May 28, 2013
Former Senator Sununu: Congress wrote the tax laws, so why blame Apple for obeying them? – May 28, 2013
Taxing Apple just taxes you – May 24, 2013
Don’t tax Apple, tax its shareholders – May 24, 2013
If Apple paid more tax, we might pay less or something – May 22, 2013
Apple CEO Tim Cook pounds another nail into the Keynesian coffin – May 22, 2013
Apple CEO Cook makes no apology for company’s tax strategy – May 22, 2013
Apple CEO Tim Cook charms Capitol Hill – May 22, 2013
Rush Limbaugh: ‘High-tech lynching: Senate attempts to crucify Apple’ – May 21, 2013
Nobody on U.S. Senate committee laid a glove on Apple CEO Tim Cook – May 21, 2013
Senator Rand Paul: Senate committee ‘should apologize to Apple for bullying one of America’s greatest success stories’ (with video) – May 21, 2013
Ireland: We have no special tax rate deal with Apple – May 21, 2013
Apple prepares for Washington onslaught: CEO Tim Cook isn’t taking any chances with senators looking to grandstand – May 21, 2013
Watch Apple CEO Tim Cook’s live testimony before U.S. Senate, starting at 9:30am EDT – May 21, 2013
U.S. Senate investigation found no evidence that Apple did anything illegal in avoiding taxes – May 20, 2013
Apple pays under 2% on overseas profits and it’s entirely legal – November 5, 2012
Google, Apple, eBay shouldn’t pay taxes – people should pay taxes – November 25, 2012
So how much did Apple really pay in taxes? – November 1, 2012
Apple’s showdown with the U.S. government over taxes on offshore cash – July 13, 2012
Apple‘s $74 billion tops list of U.S. tech companies’ overseas cash – July 9, 2012
Apple’s dividend move puts spotlight on foreign cash holdings, repatriation tax reform – March 20, 2012
Apple: Good start; and what about the overseas cash? – March 19, 2012
Apple’s foreign cash hoard piles up: $54 billion and rapidly growing – January 11, 2012
Senator John McCain eyes Apple’s $54 billion overseas cash pile – November 3, 2011
Google joins Apple in push for U.S. repatriation tax holiday – October 3, 2011
Apple lobbies Obama for tax holiday, wants to bring overseas bounty home – August 24, 2011
U.S Senate Democrat Schumer allies with Apple, other multinationals on repatriation tax talks – June 21, 2011
U.S. companies push for tax break on foreign cash – June 20, 2011
Apple, Oracle, Duke Energy, others organize lobbying blitz for tax holiday – February 17, 2011
What am I missing here; what does the SEC have to do with tax collection?
Nothing, and there is no anything in Apple’s SEC filings that would be basis for SEC involvement.
As to abroad earnings import with tax holidays, it is debatable matter. Back in 2004 it was already done but, despite the claims that those imported earnings would allow more job creation, researches found than in reality companies have cut their work force, not increased.
So this had no effect on jobs creation, which happened in much lower pace in 2000s than in 1990s, in Clinton years with higher taxes that would allow more support for poorer Americans who have to spend every cent and thus all of their money go into economy and have maximum growth multiplier effect.
There is need to be some balance on the issue of corporate profit tax, but it should not be tied with rhetoric that it has to do with job creation when factual results of past tax holidays as well as lowering of taxes of this type did not show significant positive effect, if any at all.
Guvment seeks to f*ck Apple anyway it can. Success of Apple brings contempt. . Textbooks, hiring, taxes. What is next iTunes Iradio, Apple TV. Spin the overseas operations out into a separate company a give the shares to current shareholders.
This isn’t just about Apple.
Their the biggest and richest. But you’re characterization of a vengeful government singling out Apple is laughable.
Once the federal entities get their act together they’re going to have to make laws with teeth. Cue the greedy legislatures to drag their feet.
THEN they can ask these companies for their cooperation. Those who refuse will be forced out of the US. Those who cooperate will pay fines and taxes and the money comes home.
Apple hasn’t broken any laws in any country who is sitting on their Billions. It remains to be seen if they’ve broken any US laws.
apple hasn’t broken any laws, look at the article, they want to CHANGE the law so that they can legally steal it from Apple.
“easily lead Congress to make changes to the U.S. tax code “.
government has stolen, squandered and wasted tens of billions from its citizens, got the country trillions into debt and now want to change the tax laws to steal more.
apple hasn’t broken any laws, look at the article
Never said they did. I not only look at the articles, I read them too.
Stop looking at my comments until you learn to read.
before you ask people to learn to read, perhaps YOU should learn how to THINK? (maybe that’s why you are getting all those one stars?)
you say:
“entities get their act together they’re going to have to make laws with teeth”
really? the govt. HAS teeth already, the HAVE collected all the taxes Apple is legally obligated to pay, they just want to change the laws (after apple has followed the rules) to GET MORE.
Apple has followed the laws, they paid full tax on USA earnings (biggest tax contributor in the states), they abide by Foreign laws for foreign funds: they put it in Ireland as Ireland has the most favourable tax laws in the E.U — all legal and set up by the E.U nations . Now the Governments seeing apple with a large stash want to change the laws to get the hands of Apple’s legal monies OVERSEAS as the Govt. (in many administrations) have WASTEFULLY SPENT THE HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF TAX THEY HAVE COLLECTED FROM EVERYONE.
IMAGINE if the Govt did similar things to ordinary folks like deciding to CHANGE the law to take money from tax protected Pension Funds AFTER people have followed the rules and legally put their monies in them (saying ‘hey we’re broke and there’s so much money in pension funds”). You think that’s fair?
and I’m SURE that this year you asked your accountant (or if you did your taxes yourself) to NOT take all the legal tax advantages you are allowed? I’m sure you said : I WANT TO PAY MORE and not take any deductions although it’s legal to do so.
And even if YOU wanted to do that: i.e PAY MORE TAX THAN LEGALLY OBLIGATED, Apple CANNOT: legally as a fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders Apple has to take all legal action to protect its funds and part of it is take legal tax advantages. Apple can be sued if it didn’t. Tim Cook saying “I paid more taxes than I’m legally required by current laws” will be fired by the B.O.D.
I forgot to add: the problem with people like you G4 is that you seem to forget that Apple is not some ‘entity’ but actually belongs to human beings: i.e Shareholders. That money that the govt. wants to grab belongs to PEOPLE. Money that people have worked hard, suffered, saved to invest. Most aapl is held by funds and those funds are bought by thousands of small shareholders.
When aapl fell from 700 to 400 did the govt. bail out the shareholders? No. Now they want to take Apple’s (i.e shareholders) savings AFTER apple has fulfilled all it’s legal obligations under current law? That’s fair to you?
I have apple stock in my pension funds so you think it’s ok for the govt. to take it when Apple has already legally paid all it’s taxes due? That makes me boil on so many levels.
to you some people (shareholders) have less rights than others. If you had CASH and not stock as savings you think it’s right that the Govt take some of your cash? If it’s not right to take your cash why is it right to take my stock money?
That makes me boil on so many levels.
You think I give a fuck what makes you boil?
You are such a douce.
lol your comment “You think I give a fuck what makes you boil?”
PROVES my point.
Kent and LovemycountrybutIpaytoomuchtax are the same people
Anonymous people who are afraid to join MDN can lie without reprisal. Love Apple one day and hate them the next.
Kent hates Apple but took the time to help his alter ego slam me for picking on LovemycountrybutIpaytoomuchtax.
We’ve seen him get his ass kicked by just about everyone here and he just assumes a new name like LovemycountrybutIpaytoomuchtax
G4, are you already hitting the meth?
I don’t know who this other person is, but I will assume he is a rational person with a brain who also takes offense at our white President doing all he can to destroy America, because he feels like it.
As for you, I am very happy to hear you have officially joined MDN. It is a great site. One thing that makes it great is that it is voluntary and welcomes those who do not choose to join, whatever joining is. As such, it is very much unlike Obamacare, which is joined by people who have had the government put a gun to their head and force them to “join”. After the government (big eared Obama) lied about every aspect of Obamacare.
Finally, Obama does hate capitalism, and G4, admit it, you do too. It pains you to like Apple, but hate the fact that Steve Jobs was the most successful capitalist of the last 80 years. He worked hard, he was greedy, he fought unionization. And these were all good things. He created a great country using his God given freedom and allowed people like me to invest in it and make money on his innovations. That is pure capitalism. That is what Obama seeks to destroy.
All of you one-star voters are mouth breathers.
Pridon whips out a comment designed purely to garner Apple sympathy and it works to draw favor from the knuckle-draggers.
Ha ha ha.
He claims Apple is going to get fucked over by the government! He states the government is going to bust Apple up in to smaller pieces and you all as swipes believe him, don’t you?
What he’s actually saying is, Apple couldn’t defend itself against the government. That the Obama Administration is soooooo powerful that even a company as strong as Apple is no measure for the government.
The reading comprehension at MDN has taken a severe dip ever since the Millennials discovered this website.
Success of Apple brings contempt.
Only on your planet Pridon.
Rand Paul for president.
now you’re talkin’.
one more time:
No chance. Jeff Bush is now the best Rebulican candidate — and he is not insanely right-wing, so he has actual chances to win — and corporations will spend $1+ billion to get him elected (and they spend the same on Hillary).
Jeb Bush is a piece of shit, like his father and his brother.
Mr. Bots, hats off to you. I agree with you this time
Jeb Bush is bad. Not evil like Obama, but very very bad.
(I do not mean to support Bush by that, I mean that banks and oil companies will finance him as he supports crony capitalism just as Hillary. There is no principal difference between those two candidates — both are bought.)
fsck the banks and oil companies…YOU are the voter. All the Pepsi jingles and cash flow cannot negate your own mind and conscience in the voting booth.
Jeb Bush is not stupid, greedy or easily lead around by the nose. He might have a chance to win the general election but he won’t be on the ballot. The Tea Party, funded by the Koch Brothers, will see to that.
And he may not recite the Republican mantra “Kill Obamacare”. The people are waking up to what Obamacare really brings them. By November of this year the word will be out. By the 2016 elections that statement will be a third rail. (side story, the free clinic in Mena, AR. Historically saw 300 patients without health insurance each month. In February they had 80 clients and in March they saw 3. The clinic attributed the decline in the need for their services to an increase in the number of people with Affordable Healthcare.) It’s already hilarious to watch the dark money ads for Republicans that say nothing but “family values, kill Obamacare, protect gun violence”. They are on the wrong side of all the important issues.
Time for the whiny ideologues to step aside and let the big boys and girls be in charge. (Randian nonsense counts as ideology) I wonder what the conservative spin off of the Democratic Party will call itself when the Republican Party finally crashes and burns.
Your LPS (Lies Per Sentence) rate has struck a new high. Please mark your post on April 12, 2014 as a personal “best.”
Well said.
Help me by enumerating exactly what you perceive as lies.
OBTW, if you don’t stop following me around, people will start to think you’re sweet on me. That would embarrass both of us.
“…if you don’t stop following me around..” Yet another dramatic uptick to your LPS. A hearty congratulations. You have the potential to be an Obama speechwriter.
Yes. They all got signed up for Medicaid for which they weEre likely eligible without ACA. So they are just going to a different “free clinic” and probably costing the taxpayer more. I commend the free clinics. That is a more affordable solution than ACA. Staff clinics with PAs for primary care and use catastrophic insurance coverage for the major issues.
My information was a quote from the volunteers at the clinic. Yours is from??? Fox News???
And just how are free clinics more affordable? Because they get grants from charitable organizations or are staffed by doctors donating their time? What happens to citizens who don’t happen to be in an area with a “free” clinic? Just SOL? We are going to run our society by having people NOT claim their benefits and look for charity elsewhere? Your position is horse shit.
Libertarians.
So far Libertarians seem to mostly fall in the ideologue camp. They sound good until they start frothing at the mouth. Perhaps a Practical Libertarian or a Rational Libertarian Party. It’s the sweet spot of ideology, corruption and a weak minded, lazy electorate that has got us to where we are. We have got to do better.
I agree. The only interesting Libertarians to the news media are the “frothing at the mouth” ones. The vast majority of Libertarians are reasonable, moderate thinkers.
And the majority of Democrats have the highest opinion of their own intelligence and knowledge while simultaneously actually having zero understanding of reality and the actual effects of policies they promote. In other words, they are ignorant fools but convinced of their superiority.
You tell me, which party should I join?
War – No, not unless the US is invaded/attacked.
Taxes – Limited taxation. Cut DoD 50%.
Social Safety Net – Yes. Currently completely inadequate.
Punish Criminals – Yes.
Death Penalty – No.
Bill of Rights as written- Yes, all of them.
Gun Control – No.
Abortion – Dislike it, but keep it a legal choice.
States Rights – Yes.
United Nations – No, get us out.
Corporate Welfare – No.
Jail Obama – Yes.
Jail Bush – Yes.
Jail Clinton – Yes.
No chance like his do nothing dad.
The better part of Rand Paul ran down his daddy’s leg.
I say we put the USA out of Its misery and bury ourselves by electing Michele Bachman.
/s
Yeah, well good luck with that. Knock yourself out.
Apple has been very open about the money and accounting for all funds made outside the US. The US Government can not enforce it’s laws outside the US boarders. Changing the laws and rules “after the fact” will not have any baring on the fund currently held.
Like MDN and Tim pointed out, the US current corporate tax rate and laws are outdated and are ridiculous. The problem as I see it is, the US Government moves can not effect change quick enough to stay current with the world market and business. Until they change and get their hands out of special “old school” special interest pockets, it will never change. We can’t expect it ever to change when the guys and gals running the show know they can’t get to the dance without these funds. They have little to no incentive to change how they got there or how they stay in those positions.
Accounting Branch Chief Kathleen Collins…
Does anyone have a history of her being tied to pro-Microsoft interests?
If so, she should be fired.
The government and others are keeping leadership at Apple busy and distracted so they can’t perform as well.
Nasty tactics.
All pro- Apple people need to post information on this site and others to expose the anti-people involved and neutralize them.
What’s the matter? Obama not getting enough campaign donations from Apple? Pissed off that Ms. Jobs is donating money to Hillbilly?
Well, Obammy will show Apple, send the SEC knocking on their door.
I loath racists. You are a racist, so you will never be taken seriously. The best way to describe you would be: Flaming Douce bag.
I don’t find “Hillbilly” to be racist. If you see racism in Gary’s comment, that speaks more to your dark heart than his. Or perhaps your guilty conscience. Anything you’d like to confess?
correcto mundo.
Douche is perhaps what you meant to say and it means shower in French. The bag that you refer to is filled with water and is used to cleanse a woman’s internal. Flaming does not seem to link up at all with the comments you made.
Racist? Are hillbillies a race now? Please look up the scientific definition of race. Perhaps you are thinking that President Obama is some particular race. Which race would that be? He as 50% of his parentage coming from a caucasian and the other half from a negro. Learn your races before you spout off. Better yet, try to see mankind as one and the earth as but one country. Forget race and see the qualities of the person.
Why do you insist on turning everything into a teachable moment? He misspells the word douche and you feel compelled to provide your audience with the origins of the word?
You really believe you’re morally superior, don’t you?
“Learn your races before you spout off. Better yet, try to see mankind as one…”
Which is it? Learn the races or forget they exist?
Never mind, I don’t care!
Yes you do care or you would leave me alone. Next time read and follow the sequence of thought and try to follow it. I know that you can do it.
It might be a good idea to answer ONLY WHAT WAS WRITTEN TO YOU and leave others to respond to me themselves.
Douce Bag.
Can’t let it go, can you?
No, you’re a racist.
I can’t believe you actually took the time to teach MDN our President’s racial profile.
Only a racist would instruct others to learn their races.
You can have the last word… racist.
I don’t hate Obama because he’s a white President. I hate him because he is a communist. And a lying druggie. And he hangs in Chicago bathhouses. Other than these things he is pretty good.
If you can’t win an argument, just start calling names. I guess you win now, right?
Yes, Apple believes in the SIMPLE not the COMPLEX. This is why the iTunes User Agreement only requires agreement once in your whole life and is only a few paragraphs long.
But in reality, yes, corporate tax rate is too high.
So why does apple use an insanely complex tax structure?
Come on now. The US government makes the tax laws. Apple just obeys them. Please take a little time out to learn about governments and laws.
Apple also obeys the other countries’ laws that they do business in and those countries create their own tax laws.
Time to start some react lobbying Tim.
Time to start attacking this president and his dogs.
Heavy lobbying. Real heavy lobbying .
I disagree, fsck the lobbyists. can take the high road and expose the corruption, God knows they have the tools to do it.
I preferred your avatar of the grandmaster to this new billboard. I had planned to change mine to Polgar as a nod to your selection of Chess in preference to political dogma; but things change so quickly these days, I see.
a higher call, please forgive me.
don’t change anything about yourself.
Hm. Not many would expect such cryptic sweetness from such a fierce ethical warrior as yourself.
the difference between men and women:
“Women can change better’n a man,” Ma said soothingly. “Woman got all her life in her arms. Man got it all in his head.”
“Man, he lives in jerks-baby born an’ a man dies, an’ that’s a jerk-gets a farm and looses his farm, an’ that’s a jerk. Woman, its all one flow, like a stream, little eddies, little waterfalls, but the river, it goes right on. Woman looks at it like that. We ain’t gonna die out. People is goin’ on-changin’ a little, maybe, but goin’ right on.”
― John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
Mostly, except when a woman has a command performance in a man’s role on the battlefield. At such times gender disappears like a mote into the cloud of carnage. Only victory suffices. Chess models such events.
I remain the jerk beside your river.
God, how I love Steinbeck.
…such a command performance as the one thrust at us by Artemisia, commander of the Persian navy in 300: Rise of an Empire. ‘Nicely’ portrayed by Eva Green. Now playing.
…it is widely believed that Chess itself is a Persian invention. Whatever its origins, it certainly contains, in its abstraction of conflict, all the passions that fuel violence, compressed to a high density, and capable of explosive force. Its objective: pwnage.
Everybody else lobbies like hell. Why is Apple acting like a goody two-shoes? ‘Everybody knows’ judicial threats recede in the wake of effective political lobbying. The whole thing is a setup, everyone over the age of 12 understands that. Apple needs to get off the schneid and stop acting as if they are something special, some sacred exception to Rule Number One: if it’s human, it’s corrupt. Pay off the damn politicians and get more room to maneuver. Accrue enough power and influence of your own, and you may be able to propose your own Magna Carta. Until then, don’t waste everybody’s time posing as a paragon.
Isn’t Apple the largest CORPORATE tax payer to the US Treasury already, (notwithstanding these overseas earnings)? Everyone seems to forget this.
yes.
All offshore money back in States won’t pay back the trillions $ debts. It will only fasten sinking the boat…
The 35% tax rate is intended to be a penalty for not spending your profits in another way. Apple has never paid 35% corporate tax on its earnings, I doubt any corporation does, that would be stupid. The tax code USED to work for the development of the US economy. Apple is spending $5 billion + on a new campus so it isn’t like Apple isn’t investing in America. BUT, American security, influence around the world, etc. helped Apple be able to have $16 billion in the bank. If you don’t think so, try finding any corporation from any other country that has that kind of money sitting in the bank that they can’t repatriate? Apple and all corporations owe the American people lots of money for providing a military, a free market economy and worldwide protection for them to grow. I find the unwillingness to pay the US government for that pretty unappreciative. Few will agree with me but if you want to dance, you have to pay the piper. The US government spends trillions keeping the US from falling apart, which it could without a lot of effort. If you want the beast to stay alive, you’d better feed it.
The “trillions” that the US government spends is precisely the reason the US is “falling apart.” Your fallacy is attributing any corporate success to the insane deficit spending of the US government. I submit that any success is due to the demand for their products and not some imagined, misappropriated guilt to “feed the beast.” The fiscal cartoon that is the US government is the problem, not the profits from successful corporations who sell products people want.
No. NO. you’re all wrong. Also a dolt if you truly believe this drivel.
‘Apple and all corporations owe the American people lots of money for providing a military, a free market economy and worldwide protection for them to grow. I find the unwillingness to pay the US government for that pretty unappreciative.’
That is as stupid as Obama saying “you didn’t build that”. You seem to forget that the Government is us. You know “We the people”. And NO, we didn’t make Apple successful. Apple earned it’s success fair and square, without (and in spite of) Governmental intervention/interference. Try getting a clue as to why Capitalism works and socialism doesn’t (generally speaking).
The ‘Free Market economy’ you speak of is what allows a Government, such as ours, to survive; not to mention prosper and thrive, as no other Government in history has. And that military you proclaim so awesome, is only made possible by the enormous GDP of Free Market corporations such as Apple and of course the expenditures of you and I. You know again; We the People.
As such, it is simply stupid to think that we’re better off with Apples’ money sitting off shore, because socialist dolts believe that $.35 of every $1.00 is somehow the Governments’ money. It’s not so, when you consider that for well over a century, which lead up to “the American Century”, our Government thrived without an income tax and almost no Corporate taxes. Yet today we’re all (individual and corporate) expected to fork over over 1/3 of your money. Are we really better off today or in 2000, then one century ago (at the dawn of of that American Century.
If the U.S. were considered a corp., they’d be by far the largest in the world. Based on nothing more than Revenues. Yet we are without a doubt less wealthy. To that point, consider that they, our Government, haven’t balanced the budget even once, since Eisenhower in the 50s.
Don’t fall for or believe for a second the Clinton Administration had ay sort of surplus, because it didn’t. Not on anything real or substantive, such as real money, rather than speculative Wall Street machinations.
When you think (or learn how to) about it a little bit deeper, you realize that True Capitalism (not todays cronyism nor New Deal type socialism) is, always was and always will be the only true path to freedom, liberty and justice (social or otherwise).
BTW, I suspect you don’t have the slightest clue as to where that Trillions of Dollars comes from. you probably think it comes from current taxes. Hint: it doesn’t. It comes from thin air an is going to be paid for with future taxes. But not until after debasing the U.S. Dollar. thru ever increasing inflation.
If you want to keep the US from falling apart then there is only one remedy. Eliminate the Federal Reserve. It is not a part of the Government, but rather a cartel of banks. Along with the ending of the Cartel, we should also reinstate the Glass Steagal act of 1932 in its entirety. This single act of Congress helped us to have unprecedented increases of wealth in the Middle Class.
The beast you want to feed is the real problem. We don’t need more of the same. If we do as you suggest then, the one percent will have it all. It will be the greatest oligarchy of all time and make the Russian oligarchy look like peasants.
Corporations don’t pay taxes, they only collect them. Apple’s fiduciary duty is to protect as much of their shareholder’s money as they can.
-jcr
This brings up an interesting question. Why do we peers in this charade that is corporate taxes. As has been pointed out, corporations, of course, pay no taxes. They merely charge extra for their products and send it to the government. If we eliminate corporate taxes, we eliminate the added costs of tax lawyers and tax accountants. Products become cheaper.
The downside is that then the citizens find out how much money the gov’m’t is taking out of our pockets without us knowing it when they have to raise our taxes out in the open to cover what they now sneak from us.
Dang, “peers” should be “persist”
Patently untrue remark. Higher taxes cut in to net profit they do not raise prices unless there is collusion. Prices are driven by competition and internal costs, not really corporate tax!
Yes, you are right. Which explains why gas prices are so low in California, which, oddly has the highest gas taxes. Maybe you are not right.
Don’t believe gas prices in Cali are so low and I belevie Hawaii might have the highest combined gas taxes.
You really think corporations somehow exclude taxes when figuring out the cost of their products? Like its different money? Interesting….
yeah, and just who be them shareholders?
you and me and others, sounds so wholesome and idyllic. we, as individuals invest in america and reap the benefits.
until you start looking more closely at who them others are. huge ass banks, hedge funds, insurance companies and the like.
then the otherwise wholesome notion of looking out after their shareholders takes on a bit of a noirish tone.
personally, while i do not begrudge these corporations their profits i am also of the opinion that they do have social responsibilities. they all benefit from the infrastructure that we as taxpayers fund, and that they as corporations utilize to power their factories and transport their goods, not to mention the tax abatements that our states grant them (at our immediate expense that is suppose to benefit us in the longer run – i hope it works that way, but it is the same argument that multi billionaire owners of sports franchises use to weasel money out of public coffers to build their stadiums – and that seems to be working more to their advantage than ours – but we shall see)
only in america could these corporations become as successful as they have become.
they need to pay their damn taxes, the same way i do.
This is simply the OBAMA thug government advising Apple that Apple’s money is not Apple’s money – it is the government’s money. And specifically it is Obama’s money. So turn it over. Obama is a thug – pure and simple. He was elected to destroy America and he is doing it.
What’s Obama got to do with it? Congress passes laws, and approves budgets, and the IRS collects taxes. He didn’t write the tax laws. Not that I support him, but the ignorant of the US have bought into the far right constant drone that ll of our problems are his fault. The 435 bozos that the people elected to Congress do the damage. Go check the Congressional voting results on everything you don’t like that’s been voted into law. Both parties are to blame. The only thing Obama did was to not veto them.
Obviously you did not get the Eric Holder memo. He enforces whatever laws he decides to enforce (for Obama) and does not enforce the laws (passed by Congress) he does not want to enforce. Thus the Obama DoJ does not enforce any immigration laws. It also does not prosecute black criminals because that is what Obama and Holder have decided is right. It does enforce laws, even “interpretations” against private companies, like Apple. The SEC is not enforcing a law, it is threatening Apple. There is no law that requires Apple to overpay taxes, but that is what the SEC wants Apple to do.
Obama is a thug. He uses the IRS to intimidate. Same with the SEC. It used to be “liberals’ decried government excess and authoritarian behavior. With Obama as the President liberals like a little tyranny.
As a matter of course I thought the SEC and DOJ do not publically announce investigations until they have come to a conclusion and decided to indict or fine. Seems the SEC is calling out TC because Apple didn’t intend to pay the taxes, except when /if the law is changed to reduce the rate.
It would be interesting to see how much Samesung has ever paid in US taxes. I’m sure it book all of its semi sales to Apple somewhere else and likely uses an intermedairy in a tax haven to sell throguh the SS products to the US dealers/carriers.
No one is not blaming Obama alone. However, every law and appropriation of the people’s money is subject to a veto by the president of the United States. In his reign of error, The Messiah has not veto’ed one appropriations bill. Not one.
This article just makes me angry ..mostly, because there is and has been such a vulgar squandering of taxpayer money. Interestingly, there never seems any Congressional interest in reducing this waste, balancing the budget, paying down debt and allowing citizens to keep more of their earnings …just members who over the course of their multiple terms, become wealthy …hhmmm, how did that happen.
I wouldn’t be surprised, at all, if some hothead in Cupertino has suggested moving the corporate offices to the baja peninsula and becoming Apple Pimento, a Mexican company.
And that kids, ends today’s lesson on how to use the US government to screw over its citizens.
The moral of the story is: Get that tax cash any damned way possible at the highest possible taxation rate!
Next time kids, we’ll examine the hearts and souls of the people who live within this parasitic form of government. So bring your scalpels, probes and protective goggles!
I’ll be there, OSHA-approved.
“The moral of the story is: Get that tax cash any damned way possible at the highest possible taxation rate!”
Without credit, distinction or recognition or their corporate current contributions and exemplary ethics.
How sad a lesson for American justice. How sad that the message of justice for all is the victim, but boys an girls…:
Hypocrisy will always rule.
Good luck with that…
I fear that if any change is made to the tax laws it will only be so that the government can go after more off shore profits. That’s the government’s view of “fair.”
At the core of their focus on Apple is the ever present belief that “this is the people’s money.” They will screw the country for ages to get at a relatively small sum of money that Apple has today. While that money in the private sector would pay for research and jobs and expansion for Apple, it will barely pay for a few days interest on the national debt if handed to the government.