[New York Times] How Apple Sidesteps Billions in Taxes - Page 20

economics is not politics.

You'd do it too if you could, you hypocrites.

Really? Glenn Beck? I don't even have cable TV. Was that criticism intended to accomplish something?

Stopped reading at "lack of motivation." <--- intellectual dishonesty

Americans and their denial kills me. Literally, kills me. <---self-loathing

I might disagree with what other American believe, but I don't rush to classify everyone in the USA as some group apart from myself.

The rest of the developed world is also experiencing ballooning deficits with no end in sight. Have you not heard of the European Debt Crisis?

So out of my entire set of posts, this line wherein I stated my opinion is what you intend to focus on? Very well. How do you do Mr. Strawman.

"Dreams are free, but I prefer to live in reality." What a lovely saying! I wonder if they make bumper stickers? Do you also want to "Hug the World"?

I certainly use services provided by the government. That would be the "little" part of my statement. I drive on roads just like anyone else. I did attend public school as well. My parents paid taxes for that much like I pay taxes now. I do not need a reality check from someone peddling soundbites to understand my governments involvement in my life. Are you making the statement, however, that a society must be completely egalitarian in order to enjoy basic services like that? Absolutely any other viewpoint of government's role is a "dream"? You might agree with cradle to grave society, but I do not. This does not make me a ignorant or uneducated.

On a side note, I just bought an iphone and it works great. Anyway... a lot of problems exist everywhere. To say Apple or any one else is solely to blame makes no sense at all. It's easy to cast blame, and that's why so many people do it. In the end someone gets the bill, and most of the time its spread out to the lowest common denominator. The irony here is that small middle class businesses end up paying for it. JFYI a small business can produce profits in millions. Truth is, until everyone is willing to pay taxes (eliminate EIC and other subsidies directed at paying people to do less) Apple and other BIG business will continue to find loopholes.

Furthermore, what's worse 200 million people that have no tax liability at all and possibly receives a return that someone else paid, or One BIG business that saves a few billions? I'm no saint either, I received a tax return greater than the tax I paid. Why? Because legally I was INTITLED Is it right that some other poor schmuck had to give me his money? Hell NO! By any other means of obtaining the taxes he paid, I would be considered a thief. But under our tax code, I am legal.

The system is broken. or is it? Kill the middle class.

Source?

Apple is sitting on a giant pile of cash right now, close to 100 billion if I remember correctly. How exactly is that helping anyone? You don't know much of corporate America if you think high taxes would limit growth, because low taxes do not increase growth.

Growth should happen in acordance with supply and demand, so sorporations won't need to close down hundreds of locations at a time (Starbucks) laying of thousands upon thousands of workers. Companies growth strategies are not related to taxes.

Like I said, Apple is sitting on top of 100 billion dollars, and I would bet you anything the more money a company makes the more money its CEO/CFO etc. makes, and the more money the company just piles up in the board room (figureatively of course).

60% is not overly taxing. Apple would be doing the same thing with 40 billion dollars as they are with 100. Nothing.

Overly taxing consumers hinders economic growth is what you were getting at I think. Consumers drive the economy, corporations just give us stuff to buy.

But the tax system is broken in America, the only way to fix it would be a complete economic collapse. At this point if they raised taxes or just killed all these loopholes (I could create a non profit and donate all my money to it every paycheck and not get taxed at all) the only thing that would happen would be companies would increase prices to keep margins high, which would break the economy quicker.

As it stands we are looking at a downfall eventually anyway, the whole idea of credit (imaginary money) can't keep taking point in all of our transactions. I don't know if the statistic exists, but banks probably own everything in America, I actually mean every thing.

Bah economy is dumb

Eh. Sorry, but that is wrong for all aspect. Money itself is useless if no action is taken against it. Thing is, Apple does make use of its surplus cash. They use it for future expansion or let it sit in the corporate savings account for now (which allows corporate bank to invest on other things). Every company maintains a liquid assets, just like how average people maintains a savings account. Shareholders who get paid with big dividend use that money for other investments. Money is changing hand every second we speak.

Tax does affect market growth. It is a fiscal policy that together with monetary policy from the Reserve that regulates the market. For example, tariff, which by technical definition is considered an anti-competitive practice, is used to promote market growth within a nation and discourage importing.

It wouldn't really mater if the top tax bracket was moved to 60%, the whole point of the piece was to show that our tax code is not suited for the technology age. I'd be fine with the top tax bracket paying only 30-35% If they actually paid that. Apple is just an amazing example of how broken the tax code is


Edited by ocmi_teddy - 5/3/12 at 10:49am