“The good news for Apple Inc. under a Donald Trump presidency is it might finally be able to use its hoard of overseas cash for things like R&D and share buybacks, instead of issuing more debt,” Jennifer Booton writes for MarketWatch. “The bad news: The world’s most valuable company might be pressured to bring some production home from cheaper places like China, and faces uncertain immigration policies that could impact its ability to recruit and maintain new talent.”
“The Republican sweep of the White House and Congress increases the chances that some of President-elect Trump’s proposals will see the light of day. A number of them, such as a reduction of the corporate tax rate, might benefit Silicon Valley’s big tech businesses,” Booton writes. “His views on immigration and globalization have elevated uncertainty in the tech sector, however.”
“The most immediate effect on Apple, though, could be the billions it is holding overseas and an opportunity to bring it home. Apple is one of many tech companies hoarding increasing levels of cash overseas, avoiding repatriation taxes should they try to bring that money home,” Booton writes. “Apple CEO Tim Cook hasn’t been an outspoken supporter of Trump, but he has said that he would gladly repatriate the billions of dollars Apple has overseas if it were being charged a fairer tax rate… While Apple and other tech companies could find a windfall from a tax holiday, other parts of Trump’s platform could cause issues. His policies on immigration still carry a huge question mark that could put a kink in the way tech companies recruit, hire and maintain international engineers and developers through the use of H-1B visas.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We hereby nominate “Apple CEO Tim Cook hasn’t been an outspoken supporter of Trump” for Understatement of the Day.
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