Apple Avoids Paying $17 Million In Taxes Every Day

Jason P

CEO Tim Cook charmed the Senate today, testifying on the company's tax avoidance practices.

The most interesting part of the story wasn't on the Senate floor, however.

The report published by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations detailing Apple's strategies is a great read on its own.

The report gives an inside look on Apple's absolutely genius tax avoidance strategies.

Apple uses a variety of offshore structures and arrangements to shift billions of dollars from the United States to Ireland.

The U.S. corporate tax rate is 35%, while Apple said it has negotiated a special corporate tax rate in Ireland of less than 2%*.

(The 2% rate statement has proven controversial, see below for details)

.....

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-appl ... z2U1tIcRV1

mikepegg44

Jason P wrote:

CEO Tim Cook charmed the Senate today, testifying on the company's tax avoidance practices.

The most interesting part of the story wasn't on the Senate floor, however.

The report published by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations detailing Apple's strategies is a great read on its own.

The report gives an inside look on Apple's absolutely genius tax avoidance strategies.

Apple uses a variety of offshore structures and arrangements to shift billions of dollars from the United States to Ireland.

The U.S. corporate tax rate is 35%, while Apple said it has negotiated a special corporate tax rate in Ireland of less than 2%*.

(The 2% rate statement has proven controversial, see below for details)

.....

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-appl ... z2U1tIcRV1

good

i liked when he said, "we pay all the taxes we owe."

Jason P

Yup. Another waste of time by our leaders.

Maybe they can do something more productive like trying to go after Roger Clemens a third time.

redrock

Lot of big companies are under scrutiny at the moment. In the UK as well. Politicians et al. all on their high moral horses.

Well... whether this is not 'digestible' for some, it is perfectly legal. All these companies are doing is using these laws to their advantage. Anyone can do it if they are bothered. Before governments and politicians point the finger at these companies and demonise them, maybe they should change the law so this tax 'avoidance' (or mitigation) is no longer possible. But that won't happen because it would mean the loopholes will be closed for them as well.....

mikepegg44

Jason P wrote:

Yup. Another waste of time by our leaders.

Maybe they can do something more productive like trying to go after Roger Clemens a third time.

fucker lied about juicing...perjury by people trying to protect their reputations cannot be tolerated and is a jail-able offense...at least by anyone other than

redrock wrote:

Lot of big companies are under scrutiny at the moment. In the UK as well. Politicians et al. all on their high moral horses.

Well... whether this is not 'digestible' for some, it is perfectly legal. All these companies are doing is using these laws to their advantage. Anyone can do it if they are bothered. Before governments and politicians point the finger at these companies and demonise them, maybe they should change the law so this tax 'avoidance' (or mitigation) is no longer possible. But that won't happen because it would mean the loopholes will be closed for them as well.....

right on, perfectly stated

JC29856

why is it that a us citizen, a person, must pay taxes on all income, not matter how or WHERE derived, but a us corporation, a person (citizens united), can shelter income offshore? hhhmmmmm??

redrock

If you were savvy, you could 'shelter' as well.....

polaris_x

JC29856 wrote:

why is it that a us citizen, a person, must pay taxes on all income, not matter how or WHERE derived, but a us corporation, a person (citizens united), can shelter income offshore? hhhmmmmm??

corporations are the lifeline to all that is holy and sacred in this world ... without these corporations we wouldn't have jobs and food and internet and hot dogs ... we need to focus our energy on hunting terrorists and freeing the world from hate and liberty ... :corn:

JC29856

redrock wrote:

If you were savvy, you could 'shelter' as well.....

cpa, mba taxation: im turning savy overnight, first thing tomorrow morning im firing myself and becoming the philly phanatic!

redrock

I worked for a 'citizen' who was very savvy (and had lots of money), lived in best part of London, fine art hanging on his wall, fine antiques, etc - obvious the money he had. taxman came to his place to 'go over things' and he still managed to get tens of thousands back. he 'managed' his money very well. All legally - he knew every single loophole.

chadwick

to me this means apple does not care about doing there part to make the u.s. a better country by paying their share. in my eyes all of us should avoid buying any apple products

does Microsoft avoid u.s. taxes by storing heavy fucking $$$$ in fucking Laos?

mikepegg44

chadwick wrote:

to me this means apple does not care about doing there part to make the u.s. a better country by paying their share. in my eyes all of us should avoid buying any apple products

does Microsoft avoid u.s. taxes by storing heavy fucking $$$$ in fucking Laos?

Apple is the biggest corporate tax payer in the US, they paid an effective rate of 30% last year. So much for the idea that corporations pay no taxes.

and I am sure Microsoft's accounting and tax department are doing as much as they can, but probably not Laos...

RustyShackelford

chadwick wrote:

to me this means apple does not care about doing there part to make the u.s. a better country by paying their share. in my eyes all of us should avoid buying any apple products

does Microsoft avoid u.s. taxes by storing heavy fucking $$$$ in fucking Laos?

This is ridiculous.

Apple has broken no laws. They are following the tax code as written. Tell Congress to change the tax code if you are this appalled.

unsung

I have no problem with this.

That said when will people wake up and start protesting their own personal income tax? Why does the government get to decide how much of the fruits of your labor that it gets? Ridiculous.

chadwick

RustyShackelford wrote:

chadwick wrote:

to me this means apple does not care about doing there part to make the u.s. a better country by paying their share. in my eyes all of us should avoid buying any apple products

does Microsoft avoid u.s. taxes by storing heavy fucking $$$$ in fucking Laos?

This is ridiculous.

Apple has broken no laws. They are following the tax code as written. Tell Congress to change the tax code if you are this appalled.

I know they've broken zero laws. it is still fucking selfish as fuck & very self centered to play the game of whatever the fuck they be playing the way they carry on.

it is shady, corrupt & shows they have no fucking spine or heart & cowardly hide behind some bullshit tax laws written by some wealthy cocksuckers

chadwick

again the wealthy who know the ins & outs they carry on like nobody's business while truly harming their own people & their own backyards


pay up fuckers!

Free

I don't think that pointing the finger at Apple solves a thing, because:

26 Major Corporations Paid No Corporate Income Tax For The Last Four Years, Despite Making Billions In Profits

...Amongst the 30 are corporate titans such as General Electric, Boeing, Verizon, and Mattel. The only four companies that slipped into positive tax territory were DTE Energy, Honeywell, Wells Fargo, and DuPont, with DuPont the only one that paid more than 4 percent over the four years.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/0 ... four-year/

chadwick

Free wrote:

I don't think that pointing the finger at Apple solves a thing, because:

26 Major Corporations Paid No Corporate Income Tax For The Last Four Years, Despite Making Billions In Profits

...Amongst the 30 are corporate titans such as General Electric, Boeing, Verizon, and Mattel. The only four companies that slipped into positive tax territory were DTE Energy, Honeywell, Wells Fargo, and DuPont, with DuPont the only one that paid more than 4 percent over the four years.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/0 ... four-year/

and we wonder why we're falling apart

Free

Google is a wonderful thing. (and they're one of them)

16 Giant Corporations That Have Basically Stopped Paying Taxes -- While Also Cutting Jobs!


The Slink Sixteen

General Electric: The worst tax record over five years, with $81 billion in profits and a $3 billion refund.

Boeing: In addition to receiving a refund despite $21.5 billion in profits, the company ranked high in job cutting, underfunded pensions, and contractor misconduct.

Exxon Mobil: Made by far the largest profits in the group, but paid less than 1% in U.S. taxes, and yet received oil subsidies along with their tax breaks. Unabashedly reports a 2012 "theoretical tax" of over $27 billion, almost 90% of its total income tax expense. The company was also near the top in contractor misconduct.

Verizon: Second worst tax record, with a refund despite $48 billion in profits.

Kraft Foods: Received a refund from the public despite $13.5 billion in profits. Also a leading job-cutter.

Citigroup: One of the five big banks who are estimated to get a bailout/refund from the American public amounting to three cents from every tax dollar.

Dow Chemical: Received a refund despite almost $10 billion in profits.

IBM: Paid less than 3% in taxes while ranking as one of the leading job cutters, and near the top in contractor misconduct.

Chevron: In addition to a meager 4.3% tax rate and a share of oil subsidies, the company has been the main beneficiary of tax-exempt government bonds.

FedEx: The company paid less than 5% in federal taxes while relying on the publicly-funded Post Office to deliver thirty percent of its ground packages.

Honeywell: Less than 6% in taxes, a leading job cutter, near the top in instances of contractor misconduct, and run by the "Fix the Debt" CEO with the largest pension fund.

An 8% tax rate, a leader in job cuts and underfunded pensions, and in the top 20 of contractor misconduct instances.

Notable for an 8.4% tax rate, job cuts, offshore holdings, and the top U.S. spot on the contractor misconduct dollar list.

Apple: Where to begin? Avoiding federal taxes, avoiding state taxes, hiding overseas earnings, engaging in intellectual property schemes, using the "Double Irish" to transfer profits from Europe to Bermuda, and underpaying its store workers despite conducting most of its product and research development in the United States.

Pfizer: One of the leaders in stockpiling untaxed profits overseas, and right behind Merck in contractor misconduct dollars.

Google: A master at the "Double Irish" revenue shift to Bermuda tax havens, while using tax loopholes to bring a lot of the money back to the U.S. without paying taxes on it. Recognized as one of the world's biggest tax avoiders.

Microsoft: Named as one of the biggest offshore hoarders while using tax strategies to bring much of their untaxed money back to the U.S., where it also avoids state taxes.

http://www.alternet.org/corporate-accou ... ying-taxes

chadwick

Free wrote:

Google is a wonderful thing. (and they're one of them)

16 Giant Corporations That Have Basically Stopped Paying Taxes -- While Also Cutting Jobs!


The Slink Sixteen

General Electric: The worst tax record over five years, with $81 billion in profits and a $3 billion refund.

Boeing: In addition to receiving a refund despite $21.5 billion in profits, the company ranked high in job cutting, underfunded pensions, and contractor misconduct.

Exxon Mobil: Made by far the largest profits in the group, but paid less than 1% in U.S. taxes, and yet received oil subsidies along with their tax breaks. Unabashedly reports a 2012 "theoretical tax" of over $27 billion, almost 90% of its total income tax expense. The company was also near the top in contractor misconduct.

Verizon: Second worst tax record, with a refund despite $48 billion in profits.

Kraft Foods: Received a refund from the public despite $13.5 billion in profits. Also a leading job-cutter.

Citigroup: One of the five big banks who are estimated to get a bailout/refund from the American public amounting to three cents from every tax dollar.

Dow Chemical: Received a refund despite almost $10 billion in profits.

IBM: Paid less than 3% in taxes while ranking as one of the leading job cutters, and near the top in contractor misconduct.

Chevron: In addition to a meager 4.3% tax rate and a share of oil subsidies, the company has been the main beneficiary of tax-exempt government bonds.

FedEx: The company paid less than 5% in federal taxes while relying on the publicly-funded Post Office to deliver thirty percent of its ground packages.

Honeywell: Less than 6% in taxes, a leading job cutter, near the top in instances of contractor misconduct, and run by the "Fix the Debt" CEO with the largest pension fund.

An 8% tax rate, a leader in job cuts and underfunded pensions, and in the top 20 of contractor misconduct instances.

Notable for an 8.4% tax rate, job cuts, offshore holdings, and the top U.S. spot on the contractor misconduct dollar list.

Apple: Where to begin? Avoiding federal taxes, avoiding state taxes, hiding overseas earnings, engaging in intellectual property schemes, using the "Double Irish" to transfer profits from Europe to Bermuda, and underpaying its store workers despite conducting most of its product and research development in the United States.

Pfizer: One of the leaders in stockpiling untaxed profits overseas, and right behind Merck in contractor misconduct dollars.

Google: A master at the "Double Irish" revenue shift to Bermuda tax havens, while using tax loopholes to bring a lot of the money back to the U.S. without paying taxes on it. Recognized as one of the world's biggest tax avoiders.

Microsoft: Named as one of the biggest offshore hoarders while using tax strategies to bring much of their untaxed money back to the U.S., where it also avoids state taxes.

http://www.alternet.org/corporate-accou ... ying-taxes

and to think those running the show here in the u.s. put up with such insanity. loophole creating assholes, they be getting paid well? I pray they all starve to death as soon as possible.

aerial

redrock wrote:

Lot of big companies are under scrutiny at the moment. In the UK as well. Politicians et al. all on their high moral horses.

Well... whether this is not 'digestible' for some, it is perfectly legal. All these companies are doing is using these laws to their advantage. Anyone can do it if they are bothered. Before governments and politicians point the finger at these companies and demonise them, maybe they should change the law so this tax 'avoidance' (or mitigation) is no longer possible. But that won't happen because it would mean the loopholes will be closed for them as well.....

:thumbup:

mikepegg44

chadwick wrote:

and to think those running the show here in the u.s. put up with such insanity. loophole creating assholes, they be getting paid well? I pray they all starve to death as soon as possible.

at the risk of sounding like an asshole, this is exactly why stimulus spending shit irritates the hell out of me. This is the stuff that many people unknowingly call for when they call for stimulus/government dollars to be spent to benefit the economy. Where do they think the money goes? into the pockets of Joe Six-pack? It gets put into the system in tax breaks for those who lobby the hardest, and into contracts for, you guessed it, those who lobby the hardest. This is how competition becomes uneven.

know1

Good for them.

Heck, I wouldn't mind seeing different countries have different tax rates in competition for getting the money to their geography. You want to keep industry and money in your country? Then the government - which is supposed to be working for the people - try to do what it can to keep the money within its borders.

Jason P

know1 wrote:

Good for them.

Heck, I wouldn't mind seeing different countries have different tax rates in competition for getting the money to their geography. You want to keep industry and money in your country? Then the government - which is supposed to be working for the people - try to do what it can to keep the money within its borders.

It appears that France is conducting this very experiment as we speak. Their neighboring countries should make out well.

Go Beavers

unsung wrote:

I have no problem with this.

That said when will people wake up and start protesting their own personal income tax? Why does the government get to decide how much of the fruits of your labor that it gets? Ridiculous.

So you think the individual should decide how much to pay in taxes? Maybe a neutral third party?

JC29856

no one is blaming apple, most of the blame goes to our wonderful representatives that let archaic taxation remain on the books, not to mention the minimal "tax enforcement" in this country. then they look around in bewilderment as to why we are such a miserable country even with all the happy face pills were popping, why there are no jobs here in the us and why municipalities, states and fed gov't are all bankrupt. the rest of the blame goes to the dopes in this country that let them get away with it while arguing over "stuff and nonsense" like right vs left, red vs blue, liberal vs conservative, guns, abortion, gays, government conspiracies ......

ray charles double blindfolded in the basement in a house without power can see why

as for apple, its appalling that the guy can sit there and say we pay our taxes. yeah okay, how much did you pay your accountants and attorneys to avoid taxes? how much in us taxes were legally avoided? thats the real question. 1-10scale how much effort did your company put into avoiding us taxes? what was apples effective tax rate? total us taxes divided by total income earned (just like you and I)?

chadwick

JC29856 wrote:

no one is blaming apple, most of the blame goes to our wonderful representatives that let archaic taxation remain on the books, not to mention the minimal "tax enforcement" in this country. then they look around in bewilderment as to why we are such a miserable country even with all the happy face pills were popping, why there are no jobs here in the us and why municipalities, states and fed gov't are all bankrupt. the rest of the blame goes to the dopes in this country that let them get away with it while arguing over "stuff and nonsense" like right vs left, red vs blue, liberal vs conservative, guns, abortion, gays, government conspiracies ......

ray charles double blindfolded in the basement in a house without power can see why

as for apple, its appalling that the guy can sit there and say we pay our taxes. yeah okay, how much did you pay your accountants and attorneys to avoid taxes? how much in us taxes were legally avoided? thats the real question. 1-10scale how much effort did your company put into avoiding us taxes? what was apples effective tax rate? total us taxes divided by total income earned (just like you and I)?

thank you

mikepegg44

JC29856 wrote:

no one is blaming apple, most of the blame goes to our wonderful representatives that let archaic taxation remain on the books, not to mention the minimal "tax enforcement" in this country. then they look around in bewilderment as to why we are such a miserable country even with all the happy face pills were popping, why there are no jobs here in the us and why municipalities, states and fed gov't are all bankrupt. the rest of the blame goes to the dopes in this country that let them get away with it while arguing over "stuff and nonsense" like right vs left, red vs blue, liberal vs conservative, guns, abortion, gays, government conspiracies ......

ray charles double blindfolded in the basement in a house without power can see why

as for apple, its appalling that the guy can sit there and say we pay our taxes. yeah okay, how much did you pay your accountants and attorneys to avoid taxes? how much in us taxes were legally avoided? thats the real question. 1-10scale how much effort did your company put into avoiding us taxes? what was apples effective tax rate? total us taxes divided by total income earned (just like you and I)?

apples effective tax rate is reportedly 30%. they pay more taxes in the US than just about every other company.

know1

Our government should make our tax rate competitive if they are really interested in keeping the money at home.

If they choose not to, well that tells you what they think of our country.

unsung

Go Beavers wrote:

unsung wrote:

I have no problem with this.

That said when will people wake up and start protesting their own personal income tax? Why does the government get to decide how much of the fruits of your labor that it gets? Ridiculous.

So you think the individual should decide how much to pay in taxes? Maybe a neutral third party?

I believe the personal income of an individual should be exempt.

JimmyV

unsung wrote:

Go Beavers wrote:

unsung wrote:

I have no problem with this.

That said when will people wake up and start protesting their own personal income tax? Why does the government get to decide how much of the fruits of your labor that it gets? Ridiculous.

So you think the individual should decide how much to pay in taxes? Maybe a neutral third party?

I believe the personal income of an individual should be exempt.

What taxes in your eyes are OK for us to pay? For clarification.