“Apple isn’t taking any chances with senators looking to embarrass CEO Tim Cook on Tuesday at a hearing on the tech giant’s offshore $100 billion stash,” Anna Palmer reports for Politico. “Monday night lawmakers were already gearing up, unveiling a report that alleges Apple avoided paying taxes on $44 billion in offshore, taxable income.”
“A Senate panel says Apple did not break the law but did find a new way to limit its tax burden — three of its subsidiaries in Ireland do not pay income taxes to any country,” Palmer reports. “To deal with the nasty optics, Apple has turned to a top Washington law firm for help, O’Melveny & Myers – veterans at trying to keep big companies out of trouble, like Enron, Ford and Goldman Sachs.”
“Firms like O’Melveny & Myers work closely with committee investigators to track down what CEOs can expect to face. And they try to limit the scope of the investigation before the hearing even takes place,” Palmer reports. “Apple has also sent its own hired guns to Capitol Hill for recon duty. Their mission: find out the planned line of questioning and expose any surprises senators plan to air. Meanwhile, Cook and two other top execs are doing their homework in Apple’s Washington office, which has become ground zero for the company’s preparations.”
Read more in the full article here.
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U.S. Senate investigation found no evidence that Apple did anything illegal in avoiding taxes – May 20, 2013
Apple’s U.S. tax fallout set to have global impact – May 20, 2013
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Kick ass, Tim.
Hear, hear!
Better Tim kick ass than kiss it. Give those snakes in DC what for!
Current… Levin is either stupid or lying/cheating/ politician.
currently he is saying that IP was transfered to Ireland for world sales….. true…. but then he says IP makes all the profits and he is wrong… Hardware sales are profits. … not IP.
IP is transfered so you can sell in Europe…. profits of hardware and software coding are kept in Ireland… IP is not profit generator…. Crown jewels are IP and not profit makers…
Levin is either just trying to protect his butt or just stupid.
My thoughts….
And here’s the breakdown:
The New York Times
Senate Democrats
Lawyers
IRS
on one side….
And Tim Cook on the other.
I wish we could boycott the government.
IRS is a much hated, clearly corrupt and discredited branch of government thugs. New York Times is not fit to line a bird cage, Democrats love to hate big business.
I
REAP
(what I haven’t) SOWN
And Rand Paul is on Apple’s side.
Rand Paul is a conservative, right? I hate when conservatives force people who make money, to keep the money they worked hard for!
Maybe GE needs to be at the table and not Apple? GE pays zero Federal taxes this past year. Why? Because they are good buddies with Obama! I love the way Obama is leveling the playing field!
Four more painful years! Four more painful years! Four more painful years!
Stop watching Fox. You’re brainwashed. Google it. And if Rand Paul were on the side of oxygen, that wouldn’t make him anything other than a walking turd. Case in point- Rush Limbaugh. The manure that manure makes.
Not a big Fox fan (do love to listen to Charles Krauthammer). Let me help you with something better that “Google”… go to theblaze.com and also drudgereport.com, you may expand your understanding of what is really going on around you.
Read this for a few weeks…I can add more to your reading list.
You are welcome.
And you know this because you’ve watched FOX and found this brainwashing and the falsehoods? Have you documented it? Or are just regurgitating things you’ve heard from someone else who has never watched FOX either. And I’m sure you’ve listened to Rush Limbaugh sufficiently to have developed your own opinion instead of repeating everything you’ve heard from others who repeat what they’ve heard who also never have listened sufficiently long to understand.
The canard that General Electric pays ZERO taxes was first made public in a campaign advertisement by Democrat Elizabeth Warren when she was running against Senator Scott Brown (R) in Massachusetts. It was totally untrue when she said it about GE in her Campaign in 2012 about GE’s taxes for 2010, a year in which GE did pay taxes at a 7% rate on their $6.5 billion in earnings worldwide, after suffering a $32 billion dollar LOSS during the 2008-2010 financial crisis and had loss carry overs, but they also paid taxes at a rate of 29% in the 2011 tax year. They did NOT get a $3.2 Billion dollar refund in either of those years as the New York Times mistakenly reported. These facts were revealed by Fortune Magazine and the Liberal FactCheck.org, as well as ANOTHER liberal fact checking organization Pro Publication. Of course liberals people never let facts get in the way of their attacks on business. . . Or pushing their agenda. This GE paid no taxes meme is patently false but it plays well with the ignorati.
Rush said it. All this is about is “How dare Apple become big and successful while side stepping Washington D.C.?”. The politicians want their payola. This time they are serious.
If you bothered to pay any attention or watched the hearing before opening your uninformed judgmental mouth, you would know, up to now, the Republicans have been leading the charge. A Republican is head of the committee conducting the investigation and a Republican control the entire process. Additionally, the IRS has just about zero to do with this since all government parties agree Apple’s structure for taxes is 100% legal. And the NY Times? I read their article. It’s pure reporting and hardly a shred of editorialization. I suppose you think Fox is fair and balanced.
Uh, Senator Levin, D-Michigan, chairs the committee.
Uh, we have to admit that RINO, Sen. John McCain (R) is also part of this and is apparently in bed with Levin.
No Thelonius, not just Senate Democrats. John McCain, albeit respectfully, has been INSISTENT that Apple has pulled trickery to hide its actual income from the USA. McCain is refusing to comprehend what Tim Cook and associates at the hearings have been very eloquently detailing to the committee.
Sorry but its the US government in general that is at fault here and they are refusing to either acknowledge it or do anything to fix it. Instead the entire focus has been on what Apple does with its money overseas, where indeed the USA has ZERO jurisdiction in any case. It’s a farce perpetrated by BOTH of our worthless US political parties.
But the break in the show is concluding, so back to the farce…
John McCain is progresively destroying whatever respectability he ever had. I don’t care how many years he was tortured, he still inflicted Sarah Palin on us. Talk about backstabbing…
McCain’s refusal to actually address the problem was mild compared to Karl Levin’s combative senility at the hearings. There is a man with a ruined reputation. Shameful.
“The Government” is us. Your representatives are supposedly accountable to you, the voter. If voters spent a fraction of the time telling your congressman what you wanted instead of allowing corporate lobbyists to dictate the show, then the nation would offer people a much fairer playing field.
The reason Cook is going to the Hill is largely because Apple competitors have concocted a witch hunt. Place your hatred on lobbyists, not the government that we all allowed to be bought from under our noses.
I wish Steve was still here. It would be fun watching him put the Senate right back in their place.
Well, Steve is not here, so grow up and quit living in your fantasy world. Make believe and wishful thinking are not going to make Apple a better and stronger company.
@MacFreek
Your posting is pointless. Go talk like that to an irritable 300lb biker.
Pointless? I’m keep posting and you keep whining like a little bitch.
@ MacFreek
You REALLY are nothing but a poisonous little bully, and your words are much worse that a mere waste of space. I’m pretty sure there is no-one who finds your postings of any value at all.
No, the “MacFreek” postings are good purely for comedic value.
P.S. – the 300lb comment : +1
He’d have them shitting their pants for sure!
Tim Cook is doing a brilliant job all on his own, no Steve Jobs factor. WATCH THE SHOW and NOTICE.
If anyone reading this could LEGALLY lower his or her tax bill, would they do it? I simply can’t believe the hypocrisy surrounding this whole topic. It’s repeatedly said that Apple has not broken any nations’ tax laws. If US Senators don’t like what’s happening, they only have themselves to blame because they created (along with the House and the President) our tax laws.
Amen brother.
Paying as little tax as possible is within the spirit this country was founded on.
Apple is being patriotic in protecting their money if you ask me.
Actually, the country was founded on the principle of having legislative representation in the passing of those taxes. President Washington even used the US Army to put down a rebellion regarding taxes in 1791. Protesting “taxation without representation” is not the same thing as protesting taxes at all.
Agreed
(watching C-SPAN) I wonder how many strokes Cook will have realizing that he and his company may be contributing to the wrong political campaigns?
Rand Paul is kicking ass.
I say this as a lifetime Democrat.
McCain is an ass.
Kevin is an ass.
Levin
This is just another example of how good Apple’s management team is. Since I own a lot of AAPL, I am very pleased to see Apple working every aspect of the tax code. As a side, this is more of an indictment of congress and the tax code that they wrote.
Go Senator Paul!
from what I understand, Ireland allows companies to be tax non-residents, under certain conditions. This is the rule which Apple is using I believe.
Worked for The Rolling Stones and other British rock stars, why not Apple?
I mean Prof. Shay is rockin’ the bow tie.
I would like to know how much the Gov is spending on this useless witch-hunt. THAT is the real crime here. Harassing a company who has arguably held the tech market up in this economy when they have broken no laws.. is very very sad. If you remove Apple from the market, the US tech industry would appear to have fallen over a year ago. How about they focus on enforcing current laws! How about they look into, lets say, the free cell phone debacle that is currently costing millions of Illinois taxpayers millions of dollars a year due to abuse?
Call up ‘ol Al to the stand and let him tell the (D) Senators that the ozone will take a major hit shipping the dollar bills to the U.S. from other countries and the polar bears ice will melt even sooner.
Maybe I shouldn’t post this or I might get audited.
Even if you agree that Apple (and others) weren’t acting in the spirit of the law, unless you change the law nothing is going to happen because it’s not against the law. If they’re looking to grandstand and embarrass Apple/Tim Cook the only thing that will happen is that they will potentially damage one of their countries largest and best companies and/or make themselves look stupid.
Are they expecting Apple to just turn around and offer to pay billions of tax they don’t need to on a voluntary basis?
Apple has an fidicuiary obligation to their shareholders to take every legal means to pay the least amount of taxes possible.
Carl Levin and John McCain should be ashamed of their political witch hunt.
These hack politicians knew exactly upfront that Apple did nothing wrong and that the real blame lies with our oppressive, Byzantine and insanely complex tax code.
These jerks should be praising Apple for being an example of American business and innovation.
Levin and McCain should be ashamed of themselves.
So MDN removed my post and link from CNBC regarding how little corporate taxes Apple pays.
MacDailyNews – Truth get yee behind me.
Why don’t these Senators do some real work and get this country back on track instead of targeting the worlds most valuable company (USA Home Grown you stupid a-holes Sen) who employs thousands of Americans. A home grown company that has changed how we work and live for the freaking better! You Senators need to focus on the Asian markets that are ripping us off and profiting from it. Do some real good for once.
Any one may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to increase one’s taxes. Gregory v. Helvering, 69 F.2d 809, 810 (2d Cir. 1934)
People! Write/email the office of Carl Levin and John McCain. Let them know how you feel about this witch hunt.
I did to Senators McCain, Johnson, Portman and Ayotte. I will not waste my time writing to Senator Levin. He was so clearly set astray by his staffers or advisors or campaign contributors that nothing I (or a million non-Michigan voters) could say would matter one little bit.
Apple in Ireland isn’t a new thing. As far as I’m aware, they started up in Cork in 1981 or earlier, and Cork has been Apple’s European head office ever since. I’ve been dealing with Apple for about years and until official Apple stores opened in the UK, any phone call to Apple was always answered with a charming Cork accent.
Over the last thirty years or so, Cork has been proud that Apple chooses to operate from there. In the 1980’s, Apple had no need to take advantage of favourable tax regimes but over the years, Irish revenue departments have offered attractive tax concessions to Apple. There is nothing remotely illegal about this sort of deal, it happens all the time to all sorts of businesses in most countries. What’s changed is that Apple now has built up an immense pot of gold and everybody is involved in an undignified struggle trying to get their filthy hands on it.
Watching Mr. Levin during the proceedings on C-SPAN, I was reminded of the movie Tin Men and testimony in front of the Home Improvement Commission. I think Mr. Levin used that movie as inspiration for his questioning and demeanor.
Tim Cook and team are doing a great job!
Apple was founded the same year Senator Levin was elected to the US Senate. So while he’s been creating this Byzantine tax code Apple has been creating jobs, wealth, and taxes.
I’m embarrassed by Senator Levin’s attack on Apple.
Levin is such an asshole. I want to climb through this screen and just throttle him. He won’t even let them answer. He will not SHUT UP. Please shut up!
He looks like Grandpa Munster’s twin, except Grandpa Munster wasn’t an asshole.
Now Sen. Levin is trying to make the case that profits on sales made overseas are taxable in the US because those procucts were desiged in the US? Is he trying to make the case that intelectual property is taxable? Does he want to chase our high-tech companies overseas?
The fact is that the ‘US Tax Man’ has NO RIGHT to ANY profits made overseas by ANY company.
The problem is convincing companies to bring that money over to the USA, by their good graces. That is solved by providing a tax incentive. Tim Cook provided guidance as to how to achieve that incentive, which is exactly what he had to do. Cook contributed to the solving the problem. Levin only ruined his own reputation. John McCain was at least friendly, but he too provided ZERO guidance as to how to solve the problem. IOW: Both parties train wrecked this opportunity to get the damned problem solved.
He didn’t even give Tim the courtesy to respond to that last gigantic release of hot air that went on and on and on and on.
The second session of the hearing just ended. I called this hearing a farce. If it wasn’t already, Senator Karl Levin made damned sure it was. He went into rant mode, repeating himself over and over and over and over attempting to force the word “SHIFT” down Apple’s throat, interrupting every attempt by Apple to provide the actual facts. Then, after providing not-an-iota of a suggestion of how to fix the problem, he finishes with what we knew without any of this hearing: That the 35% tax rate for “repatriating” profits from overseas into the USA is TOO DAMNED HIGH.
The hearings have been great for watching Apple make it’s point. The hearings at this point, 2/3 through, have been WORTHLESS at solving the problem.
Karl Levin: Take your Aricept and get out of politics. You not only made a fool of yourself. You made a fool of the US Senate. Shame on you. It’s time for someone with active, creative and contributive brain cells to take over your job.
Meanwhile, Tim Cook, Peter Oppenheimer and Phillip A. Bullock were brilliant in their calmness, earnestness and friendliness in light of Senator Karl Levin’s combative senility.
“Hearing” …no… It looked like an attempted HANGING to me!
It’s Senator Karl Levin who’s hanging himself. I would imagine a lot of Democrats AND Republicans would enjoy taking a piano wire to his neck then burying him at sea wearing a pair of cement boots. Levin’s senility is reflecting badly on the entire Senate.
If folks want to see exactly how socialism eats itself alive, watch and listen to Senator Karl Levin in video copies of these hearings. He’s a classic dire socialist, nutjob to the core.
That last paragraph was crystal clear yesterday. Very sad situation. An embarrassment to America.