Apple Says $14B Tax Bill Is 'Total Political Crap'

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If this "total political crap" statement sounds familiar, that would be because Tim Cook said the exact same thing last year on 60 minutes when asked about avoiding taxes just two weeks before having to pay Italy $350 million in back taxes.

Apple's Chief Executive Tim Cook described an EU ruling that it must pay a huge tax bill to Ireland as "total political crap", but France joined Germany on Thursday in backing Brussels as transatlantic tensions grow. European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager dismissed Cook's broadside, saying the demand for a 13 billion euro ($14.5 billion) back tax payment was based on the facts.
 
Why not just pay the damn taxes HERE, where it can be of use to US? Sure, we have higher taxes, and people are complaining of the 'double' Irish tax but I say it's "Total Corporate Crap".
Pay the shit, we all have to. Your Apple for shit's sake. Corporate greed pisses me off something fierce.
 
I bet if apple pulled out of the eu peple would riot

Probably not. They don't have as much penetration over their due to bizarro international pricing. Sure people want the stuff...but not for what Apple wants to charge.
 
I don't usually agree with Tim Cook, but in this case it looks like he is right. They want to double tax him, and at higher rate than everyone else, so they just know Apple has the money and are going after it.
 
I don't usually agree with Tim Cook, but in this case it looks like he is right. They want to double tax him, and at higher rate than everyone else, so they just know Apple has the money and are going after it.

So Apple and all other corporations have the exact kind of tax code they wanted, via buying laws and congressmen in the USA....but even the tax-code THEY WANTED is too much...so they dodge our taxes by going somewhere else....and then complain when their tax bill is due.

Cry me a river.

What is it with Americans loving criminals? At least Bonnie and Clyde or Billy the Kid have some romance going for them I suppose....Unlike Tim Cook or Sir Allen Stanford that are just white collar crooks.
 
Why not just pay the damn taxes HERE, where it can be of use to US? Sure, we have higher taxes, and people are complaining of the 'double' Irish tax but I say it's "Total Corporate Crap".
Pay the shit, we all have to. Your Apple for shit's sake. Corporate greed pisses me off something fierce.

What goes around, comes around. It's about time countries crack down on these corporatist that play games with all these tax avoidance schemes.

Meanwhile he supports the candidate here in the US (like many of these corporate titans) that promises to raise taxes on businesses and the rich.

Either he knows that's a lie (there will be no tax increases on him or his company), or he figures he has enough tax lawyers to avoid the taxes and it will only hurt all the little guys who can't afford all the fancy tax lawyers like him.
 
It's everyone's job to pay as little as possible.

lol at all the elementary hall monitors.
 
Apple is waiting for congress to pass a tax holiday, giving Apple and other companies a lower tax rate (14% currently proposed) to repatriate sheltered profits being held overseas. It's unlikely to pass in an election year (and also because it was proposed by Obama), so...

The last time a tax holiday like this was in effect was back in 2005, when it was lowered to 5% for a similar reason. Remember when you stopped paying taxes for years and the IRS said it's cool ese, just pay a 5% rate and no penalties and we cool? :p Voters and business interests would be pretty angry if the same deal passed again. Either way, the extremists will see even a tax holiday as a tax increase.
 
Apple is waiting for congress to pass a tax holiday, giving Apple and other companies a lower tax rate (14%) to repatriate sheltered profits being held overseas. It's unlikely to pass in an election year (and also because it was proposed by Obama), so...

The last time a tax holiday like this was in effect was back in 2005, when it was lowered to 5% for a similar reason. Remember when you stopped paying taxes for years and the IRS said it's cool ese, just pay a 5% rate and no penalties and we cool? :p Voters and business interests would be pretty angry if the same deal passed again.

That is the most laughable thing I've ever heard.

You realise Apple is raising shit over paying 8% taxes right? If your theory held any water, they'd shut up and quietly pay the bill.
 
That is the most laughable thing I've ever heard.

You realise Apple is raising shit over paying 8% taxes right? If your theory held any water, they'd shut up and quietly pay the bill.
It's not a theory, and certainly not *my* theory. Tim Cook said he would bring back billions, and had set aside several billion to pay US taxes. It could just be a game since the tax holiday is unlikely to pass (this year), or it could be real if there's some business reason that allows greater flexibility. Tim Cook Says Apple Could Send Cash Back to U.S. Next Year

Tim Cook said:
“We provisioned several billion dollars for the U.S. for payment as soon as we repatriate it, and right now I would forecast that repatriation to occur next year,” Mr. Cook said in the interview.

It's been in the works since last year, and basically guarantees a much lower tax rate on profits than other businesses and upper income tier individuals pay. With various shenanigans, it should be even lower than the ongoing rate (19%) after the tax holiday (14%).
 
This is an EU ruling. The Irish are pissed and plan to appeal the ruling. Wonder what the betting line is on an IrishExit vote now that this has happened?
 
It's not a theory, and certainly not *my* theory. Tim Cook said he would bring back billions, and had set aside several billion to pay US taxes. It could just be a game since the tax holiday is unlikely to pass (this year), or it could be real if there's some business reason that allows greater flexibility. Tim Cook Says Apple Could Send Cash Back to U.S. Next Year


Yea, that is called posturing. If you actually believe him, I have a platinum bridge to sell you.
 
This is an EU ruling. The Irish are pissed and plan to appeal the ruling. Wonder what the betting line is on an IrishExit vote now that this has happened?

Very low. Further odds of an actual full-on 100% Brexit itself are very low. If you actually follow these things and understand what a Brexit entails and what the actual IRL options are.
 
Yea, that is called posturing. If you actually believe him, I have a platinum bridge to sell you.
You didn't even know about the tax holiday legislation, or who and what it was meant to address, so I consider your opinions uninformed. :p But thanks for sharing.
 
You didn't even know about the tax holiday legislation, or who and what it was meant to address, so I consider your opinions uninformed. :p But thanks for sharing.

Says the one taking a CEO at his word. I take it you trusted everything Sir Allen Stanford ever said? CEOs are by and large liars, who will say anything to get what their board claims to want. Look at Donald Trump.
 
Why not just pay the damn taxes HERE, where it can be of use to US? Sure, we have higher taxes, and people are complaining of the 'double' Irish tax but I say it's "Total Corporate Crap".
Pay the shit, we all have to. Your Apple for shit's sake. Corporate greed pisses me off something fierce.

Seriously? The US corporate tax rate is 35%. Welcome to globalization, where countries can't get away with idiotic policies like that anymore.
 
So Apple and all other corporations have the exact kind of tax code they wanted, via buying laws and congressmen in the USA....but even the tax-code THEY WANTED is too much...so they dodge our taxes by going somewhere else....and then complain when their tax bill is due.

Cry me a river.

What is it with Americans loving criminals? At least Bonnie and Clyde or Billy the Kid have some romance going for them I suppose....Unlike Tim Cook or Sir Allen Stanford that are just white collar crooks.

They don't have the tax code that they want. That's why they're shoring up billions of dollars outside of the US.
 
They don't have the tax code that they want. That's why they're shoring up billions of dollars outside of the US.

It isn't what they want...any longer. The reason the tax code is as large and complex as it is, is because corporations bribed legislators to get perks thrown in for them. They got what they wanted.

Then one day they realised they could dodge paying any dues to anyone whatsoever. Hence the status quo.
 
Seriously? The US corporate tax rate is 35%. Welcome to globalization, where countries can't get away with idiotic policies like that anymore.

Remeber that the 35% is BEFORE deductions and loopholes where they are paying FAR FAR less than 35%. The USA does have one of the higher BASE corporate tax rates but our EFFECTIVE tax rate is quite low
 
Remeber that the 35% is BEFORE deductions and loopholes where they are paying FAR FAR less than 35%. The USA does have one of the higher BASE corporate tax rates but our EFFECTIVE tax rate is quite low

Exactly.

The effective rates that corporations actually pay are among the lowest in the world. Nowhere near as low as Ireland, but still, scandalously low.
 
This is an EU ruling. The Irish are pissed and plan to appeal the ruling. Wonder what the betting line is on an IrishExit vote now that this has happened?
As said before, unlikely, because this does not directly affect Irish people themselves.

There has never been any strong anti-EU sentiments in Ireland for sure, I believe in part because it actually removed them from being so economically dependent on UK. Now that UK is out of it, I think the Irish are even less inclined to leave the EU.
 
As said before, unlikely, because this does not directly affect Irish people themselves.

There has never been any strong anti-EU sentiments in Ireland for sure, I believe in part because it actually removed them from being so economically dependent on UK. Now that UK is out of it, I think the Irish are even less inclined to leave the EU.

Oh. NO.


The UK isn't really out of the EU at all at this point. All that happened was a non-legally-binding opinion poll was conducted....and Brexit barely won. Yes, that vote was NON-BINDING. 3 things can now happen:

A) Ignore the Brexit vote entirely...and things continue as they have been. This is arguably rather non-democratic....but probably economically the soundest move. It is also wisest politically as the UK remains United. Probably the 2nd most likely

B) A Pseudo-Brexit. Britain would leave the EU, but still be part of the European Economic Area. IOW, Britain would lose its seats/representation in the EU Parliament, but still basically be subject to EU law in order to still be trade partners. This option is the compromise option and pisses off everyone, while giving everyone some of what they claimed they wanted. Think of this as "TAXATION BUT ALSO TRADE WITHOUT REPRESENTATION". This is probably the most likely....and could result in the breaking up of the UK as a single political entity.

C) Full-On-Brexit. Which is what most Americans think has already happened. But did not. Britain leaves the EA and EEA entirely.....at the expense of losing all trade/open-border abilities with the EU and crapping out on its international economic institutions like banks that rely on the EU and EEA to do business. This will PISS OFF UK businesses to no end, which makes it unlikely. This option also likely means the END of the United Kingdom, as various members want to remain EU.


Britain has IIRC 2 years to make up their mind what Brexit actually means of the above 3 options....and other EU members what UK to figure it out FAST. The problem being the UK isn't just ONE landmass-there's a whole bunch of island properties of the crown that have pseudo-EU status as well.


What makes the whole thing more tragically hilarious, was the party in power that put the vote together as a sham to win votes....well it blew up in their faces when they lost. But the people who won, well LIED to do it (regards what happens economically/policy), AND now that THEY are in power...they honestly have no clue WTF to do. It is like a room of kids passing around a primed nuclear weapon never thinking it could go off-and not having any plan for when it does.....and surprise surprise it did.
 
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This is an EU ruling. The Irish are pissed and plan to appeal the ruling. Wonder what the betting line is on an IrishExit vote now that this has happened?


Exactly. The EU is all pissed because the Irish have set a lower tax rate. It's "unfair" for Ireland to out compete the rest of Europe, so other countries are using the force of the EU to get what they want. Which, of course, is sink with the rest of us, or else!
 
Every day it seems big companies can do something sorta illegal make millions then pay a fine equal to a minor percentage of the profits they made from breaking those laws. If you or I or anybody else did this we would have our countries respective tax collection agencies come down on us for 5x what we made to set an example and force us into bankruptcy. If corporations want to be people so badly then I say we treat them as such, figure out how much money this saved them then fine them for 5x that amount, shit if they refuse to pay open those patent portfolios of theirs. The IRS would seize your house and car before you even knew what was going on so why not do the same to Corporations, seize their patents and auction them off that would make more than a few Corporations think long and hard before doing something like this again.
 
It isn't what they want...any longer. The reason the tax code is as large and complex as it is, is because corporations bribed legislators to get perks thrown in for them. They got what they wanted.

Then one day they realised they could dodge paying any dues to anyone whatsoever. Hence the status quo.

Money flows to the path of least resistance, it's that simple. Welcome to globalization. Adapt and survive.
 
Remeber that the 35% is BEFORE deductions and loopholes where they are paying FAR FAR less than 35%. The USA does have one of the higher BASE corporate tax rates but our EFFECTIVE tax rate is quite low

Money flows to the path of least resistance, it's that simple. Welcome to globalization. Adapt and survive. They don't owe you anything. Apple is being Apple. They're going to position themselves with whoever is going to give them the best deal. You would do exactly the same thing.
 
Why not just pay the damn taxes HERE, where it can be of use to US? Sure, we have higher taxes, and people are complaining of the 'double' Irish tax but I say it's "Total Corporate Crap".
Pay the shit, we all have to. Your Apple for shit's sake. Corporate greed pisses me off something fierce.

Every single American and Corporation will find every write off, deduction, or claim to lessen the burden of taxes.

If I was Apple I would look at increasing the cost of their products and advertise the fact that EU civilians are paying for their countries tax mark up. It's going to happen either way, but I'd actually advertise it that way.

35% business tax is utter nonsense.
 
Oh. NO.


The UK isn't really out of the EU at all at this point. All that happened was a non-legally-binding opinion poll was conducted....and Brexit barely won. Yes, that vote was NON-BINDING. 3 things can now happen:

A) Ignore the Brexit vote entirely...and things continue as they have been. This is arguably rather non-democratic....but probably economically the soundest move. It is also wisest politically as the UK remains United. Probably the 2nd most likely

B) A Pseudo-Brexit. Britain would leave the EU, but still be part of the European Economic Area. IOW, Britain would lose its seats/representation in the EU Parliament, but still basically be subject to EU law in order to still be trade partners. This option is the compromise option and pisses off everyone, while giving everyone some of what they claimed they wanted. Think of this as "TAXATION BUT ALSO TRADE WITHOUT REPRESENTATION". This is probably the most likely....and could result in the breaking up of the UK as a single political entity.

C) Full-On-Brexit. Which is what most Americans think has already happened. But did not. Britain leaves the EA and EEA entirely.....at the expense of losing all trade/open-border abilities with the EU and crapping out on its international economic institutions like banks that rely on the EU and EEA to do business. This will PISS OFF UK businesses to no end, which makes it unlikely. This option also likely means the END of the United Kingdom, as various members want to remain EU.


Britain has IIRC 2 years to make up their mind what Brexit actually means of the above 3 options....and other EU members what UK to figure it out FAST. The problem being the UK isn't just ONE landmass-there's a whole bunch of island properties of the crown that have pseudo-EU status as well.


What makes the whole thing more tragically hilarious, was the party in power that put the vote together as a sham to win votes....well it blew up in their faces when they lost. But the people who won, well LIED to do it (regards what happens economically/policy), AND now that THEY are in power...they honestly have no clue WTF to do. It is like a room of kids passing around a primed nuclear weapon never thinking it could go off-and not having any plan for when it does.....and surprise surprise it did.

An end to the UK? You realize that the UK would still end up trading with every country in the EU. If it's mutually beneficial they'll trade.

Germany is not going to cut off their nose to save face. Iirc the pound had bounced back after the initial shock and businesses have seen a higher trend in purchasing being done due to travel.

I'm not going on advocate the way and how of how it all went down but to assume the country is going to fail because they declared their independence is rather daft.
 
An end to the UK? You realize that the UK would still end up trading with every country in the EU. If it's mutually beneficial they'll trade.

Germany is not going to cut off their nose to save face. Iirc the pound had bounced back after the initial shock and businesses have seen a higher trend in purchasing being done due to travel.

I'm not going on advocate the way and how of how it all went down but to assume the country is going to fail because they declared their independence is rather daft.

The UK is just that. A Kingdom that is United. If Britain goes for a full-on-Brexit and other constituent members decide not to....that is the breaking up of the UK pretty much by definition. Further the EEA and EU (and the businesses in the UK) are reliant upon open trade and borders. If only part of the UK actually leaves the EU it means holy legal hell in terms of trade and business across the Crown or whatever is left of it that cares to listen to the British Parliament. This of course is also hell for all the island crown dependencies. Like say the Isle of Man, which is part of the UK-so its members are EU citizens, at least for now? But the matter gets more difficult when dealing with British island territories in the Caribbean whose citizens are kind-of-sort-of-EU-citizens but not....and I don't claim to have a clue how that would play out.

And if any of this would undo the royalty at the top, that would be even worse...as the Queen actually lowers every Briton's taxes due to all the Yanks coming to see her castles in tourism.

Britain leaving means some of the Crown is open to EU trade/immigration/business while remaining subject of EU law, and some isn't.
 
So Apple and all other corporations have the exact kind of tax code they wanted, via buying laws and congressmen in the USA....but even the tax-code THEY WANTED is too much...so they dodge our taxes by going somewhere else....and then complain when their tax bill is due.

Cry me a river.

What is it with Americans loving criminals? At least Bonnie and Clyde or Billy the Kid have some romance going for them I suppose....Unlike Tim Cook or Sir Allen Stanford that are just white collar crooks.


Here is the issue. They made a deal with Ireland, that deal becomes null and void according to the EU, who are run by a bunch of complete and utter tyrants who are NOT elected in the upper echelons of the EU by anyone in ireland or any other country within the EU.
When you, as joe citizen employ the amount of people that apple does, you always get sway over taxes because you bring in jobs to the community, money to community through homes, food, entertainment...etc.. which in turn makes up for the tax breaks by allowing the community to be able to maintain it through the taxes its new business partner bring into the community. Simple, cut and dried.

So why do we love criminals? I'm sorry, but i do not know of one american who wants to pay one fucking cent in taxes. So every single one of us is a criminal lover at heart in that respect. Now, if you have the money and resources to save on your taxes, you do it. Why do you think tens of thousands of americans move each year to a different state? It's not only because Florida or North Carolina are warmer, or the job market is larger, a good percentage move because the tax rate is a helluva lot cheaper. PERIOD. But hey, if you feel so bad about it, dont claim your children, your home, etc. etc.. on your taxes. Pay your base 38% or whatever your bracket is, of everything, dont use any tax breaks the state/govt give you for anything.

Do that, and then you can run your mouth off about criminals and taxation all you want. I guarantee you, there is not one person who is on this forum who wouldnt want to find a way to pay less in taxes each year. NOT ONE. If they have the resources to do so, they will do it. If that means they can afford to hire a better accountant or law firm to do their taxes which in turn allows them to get pay a lower tax bill, and its cost effective.... every single one of us would do it. IN A HEARTBEAT!

That sir, is a fact.
 
The EU's going to need all that money to pay for all of the immigrants they keep letting in.

Fuck em. Stupid is as stupid does.
 
The UK is just that. A Kingdom that is United. If Britain goes for a full-on-Brexit and other constituent members decide not to....that is the breaking up of the UK pretty much by definition. Further the EEA and EU (and the businesses in the UK) are reliant upon open trade and borders. If only part of the UK actually leaves the EU it means holy legal hell in terms of trade and business across the Crown or whatever is left of it that cares to listen to the British Parliament. This of course is also hell for all the island crown dependencies. Like say the Isle of Man, which is part of the UK-so its members are EU citizens, at least for now? But the matter gets more difficult when dealing with British island territories in the Caribbean whose citizens are kind-of-sort-of-EU-citizens but not....and I don't claim to have a clue how that would play out.

And if any of this would undo the royalty at the top, that would be even worse...as the Queen actually lowers every Briton's taxes due to all the Yanks coming to see her castles in tourism.

Britain leaving means some of the Crown is open to EU trade/immigration/business while remaining subject of EU law, and some isn't.

The EU most certainly does not rely on open trade. The EU relies on forced trade and protectionist laws meant to enrich unelected beurocrats. All of these trade deals you see on TV is a load of crock. If I want to trade with SA_Wehrwolf I approach him and say hey man I have these goods, can I sell them in your country? Sure man, can I sell these PCs in yours? Hey no problem!

A trade deal that is longer than half a page is a deal setup to harm others to benefit the few (usually major international companies).

You're scared that a conglomerate of major EU players who have no care in the world for people will try to hurt Briton when the truth is they are horrified of a EU without Briton.

Once Briton proves they can stand on their own and don't need huge amounts of regulation and now have control of their own land/borders everyone is going to leave the EU.
 
I bet if apple pulled out of the eu peple would riot

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So Apple and all other corporations have the exact kind of tax code they wanted, via buying laws and congressmen in the USA....but even the tax-code THEY WANTED is too much...so they dodge our taxes by going somewhere else....and then complain when their tax bill is due.

Cry me a river.

What is it with Americans loving criminals? At least Bonnie and Clyde or Billy the Kid have some romance going for them I suppose....Unlike Tim Cook or Sir Allen Stanford that are just white collar crooks.

Yeah, I don't get this bullshit, plus is not like while they are saving all this taxes and accumulating a mountain of money while they have been lowering the price of the iphones.
But noooooo if companies have to pay taxes, its only the customer that will pay .. you know the peter and paul shit...
the other way around, company makes money and doesn't really pass on any savings to the customer.. well, WELL.. the "FREE" market determines they price, and companies going to charge as much as people can pay.
Two moronic MEME that basically contradict each other.
 
Here is the issue. They made a deal with Ireland, that deal becomes null and void according to the EU, who are run by a bunch of complete and utter tyrants who are NOT elected in the upper echelons of the EU by anyone in ireland or any other country within the EU.
When you, as joe citizen employ the amount of people that apple does, you always get sway over taxes because you bring in jobs to the community, money to community through homes, food, entertainment...etc.. which in turn makes up for the tax breaks by allowing the community to be able to maintain it through the taxes its new business partner bring into the community. Simple, cut and dried.

So why do we love criminals? I'm sorry, but i do not know of one american who wants to pay one fucking cent in taxes. So every single one of us is a criminal lover at heart in that respect. Now, if you have the money and resources to save on your taxes, you do it. Why do you think tens of thousands of americans move each year to a different state? It's not only because Florida or North Carolina are warmer, or the job market is larger, a good percentage move because the tax rate is a helluva lot cheaper. PERIOD. But hey, if you feel so bad about it, dont claim your children, your home, etc. etc.. on your taxes. Pay your base 38% or whatever your bracket is, of everything, dont use any tax breaks the state/govt give you for anything.

Do that, and then you can run your mouth off about criminals and taxation all you want. I guarantee you, there is not one person who is on this forum who wouldnt want to find a way to pay less in taxes each year. NOT ONE. If they have the resources to do so, they will do it. If that means they can afford to hire a better accountant or law firm to do their taxes which in turn allows them to get pay a lower tax bill, and its cost effective.... every single one of us would do it. IN A HEARTBEAT!

That sir, is a fact.

Yea it does seem many Americans are generally 6 years old. The want roads. They want electricity. They want a fire department. They want water that is safe. They want cars that are safe to operate. They want. They. Want. They want.....And like 6 year olds, they don't want to have to pay for any of it. It just magically occurs without needing to pay for it. They don't have to pay one cent in taxes and those roads and bridges magically pay themselves.

No wonder utopias like Kansas are bankrupt.
 
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