Paul defends Apple tax shelters

[JimH52]

http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Apple-defends-shelters-finds-GOP-ally-4535931.php

Who woulda though he could make his father look sane?

[Agravan]

http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Apple-defends-shelters-finds-GOP-ally-4535931.php

Who woulda though he could make his father look sane?
What did Apple do that was illegal, Jim?

[zelmo1234]

Oh! my a Conservative / libritarian is defending lower taxes

Who would have guessed it!

My be we can come up with a special tax for Apple so they move their headquarters to another country!

That would be the liberal way. They would tell all the people that lost their jobs how lucky they were to be part of the great liberal victory that couased the company to move!

liberalsim truely is a mental disorder!

[Mainecoons]

What did Apple do that was illegal, Jim?

That's a really good question. Are you going to answer it or just give us another rant, Jim?

[patrickt]

To quote the White House, folks, "the law is irrelevant". At least it is for liberals. We are now in a age of individuals and not laws. I don't like Apple as a company and haven't since 1981 so I don't buy their products. They have spent a fortune buying off politicians and if that means they can skate on taxes within the law, that's what they paid for.

[Cigar]

To quote the White House, folks, "the law is irrelevant". At least it is for liberals. We are now in a age of individuals and not laws.

Sucks when it's not the President you Voted for who does the same things the President you Voted for did. :)

[Chris]

Sucks when it's not the President you Voted for who does the same things the President you Voted for did. :)

Why are you always arguing two wrongs make a right?

[Chris]

This is what I came across re Apple Taxes:


You almost have to admire Carl Levin's timing. Amid a furor over politicized IRS tax enforcement, the Michigan Democrat on Tuesday tried to change the subject to a hardy Washington perennial—corporate tax loopholes. Too bad his designated business pinata, Apple, AAPL -0.74% demonstrates instead the insanity of the tax code that Mr. Levin has done so much to write.

Mr. Levin unveiled the results of his months-long investigation into Apple's corporate taxes and accused the American business success of employing "alchemy" and "gimmickry" to lower its tax bill. What Mr. Levin did not do was present any evidence of anything illegal or even inappropriate. He did prove that Apple has smart accountants and tax lawyers.

Mr. Levin is outraged that Apple subsidiaries in Ireland pay little or no corporate income tax on profits generated from Apple's international sales. Ireland has a laudably low corporate tax rate of 12.5% to attract jobs and capital, but it turns out that for certain corporations controlled by entities outside Ireland, the deal gets better.

The Apple units are based in Ireland, so U.S. law does not consider them to be U.S. corporations subject to U.S. corporate tax. But since they are managed and controlled by Apple in the U.S., Irish law doesn't consider them Irish companies and thus they are also not subject to the 12.5% Irish corporate tax. This isn't alchemy; it's accountancy.

<etc etc etc>

@ The Apple Tax Diversion: Senators beat up a U.S. success for following the tax laws they wrote. (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324102604578497263976945032.html?m od=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop)

[Chris]

And this is what Rand Paul said...


Sen. Rand Paul is outraged that Congress held a hearing to “bully one of America’s greatest success stories.” The Kentucky lawmaker believes Apple was unfairly targeted for trying to minimize its taxes, and that the company is owed an apology.

“It’s absurd for Congress to vilify businesses like Apply for wanting to minimize their tax code just like every other American rightly does,” Paul wrote on his Twitter account after the hearing.

“If you want to chase companies like Apple away, continue to vilify them,” he wrote in a separate Tweet. “Congress should be giving Apple an award today.”

...Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chair of the subcommittee, said Monday that he has never before seen anything like Apple’s tax “gimmickry”, and that the company is taking advantage of technicalities in US and Irish tax laws to avoid paying taxes on a major portion of its profits.

The subcommitteeon Monday released a report that says Ireland was a tax haven for the technology giant, which shielded $47 billion in profits from US authorities over the past four years through subsidiaries that had no official tax residence.

But Paul said bringing Cook in to testify was as if Congress was looking into a giant mirror.

“Tell me one of these politicians up here who doesn’t minimize their taxes,” Paul told the committee. “Tell me what Apple’s done that’s illegal… I’m offended by the spectacle of dragging in American companies for doing something that isn’t illegal.”

Paul also said that “if anyone should be on trial, it should be Congress.”

<etc etc etc>

@ Rand Paul blasts Congress for attacking Apple over taxes (http://rt.com/usa/rand-paul-apple-congress-595/)


This wouldn't happen if Congress would make the US a tax haven to not only keep companies here but attract more foreign companies here.

[jillian]

Oh! my a Conservative / libritarian is defending lower taxes

Who would have guessed it!

My be we can come up with a special tax for Apple so they move their headquarters to another country!

That would be the liberal way. They would tell all the people that lost their jobs how lucky they were to be part of the great liberal victory that couased the company to move!

liberalsim truely is a mental disorder!

how about if he doesn't defend illegality?

just because paul is an idealogue, doesn't mean the corporation should be allowed to evade taxes.

but in terms of apple, i have a better idea... we really shouldn't buy their products until they stop making them in chinese sweat shops.

not that i'm not guilty of having one. but to be fair, before i got addicted to apple products, i had no idea about origin.

[Chris]

how about if he doesn't defend illegality?

just because paul is an idealogue, doesn't mean the corporation should be allowed to evade taxes.

Jill, where did Paul defend illegality? Be specific.

[Agravan]

how about if he doesn't defend illegality?

just because paul is an idealogue, doesn't mean the corporation should be allowed to evade taxes.
you're the one that keeps asking for laws that were broken in the Benghazi and IRS scandals. how about you cite which laws Apple broke in trying to minimize their taxes.

[JimH52]

Why are you always arguing two wrongs make a right?

When you answer a question with a question, you don't get an answer Chris, or is it one of your other screen names.

[JimH52]

Now I wonder if Paul will also support the GOP proposal to stop mortgage deductions? You know, screw the middle class and protect the tax evading corporation. Or is he a different colored Republican?

[Chris]

Sucks when it's not the President you Voted for who does the same things the President you Voted for did. :)


Why are you always arguing two wrongs make a right?


When you answer a question with a question, you don't get an answer Chris, or is it one of your other screen names.

What question did cigar ask, jim?

[Chris]

Now I wonder if Paul will also support the GOP proposal to stop mortgage deductions? You know, screw the middle class and protect the tax evading corporation. Or is he a different colored Republican?

So your rant fell flat and now you change topics criticizing Paul for something he may or may not do in the future? Quite a leap.

[TheDictator]

GOP proposal to stop mortgage deductions?

Please give a link to this?

[Mainecoons]

Nice job of dodging a simple question, Jim.

Once again, please provide specific, linked support for the allegation of illegality.

I won't even ask you to comment on the hypocrisy of a liberal outfit like Google dodging taxes. After all, we all know that spending OPM is the absolute heart of the liberal mindset.

[JimH52]

Please give a link to this?

http://gazette.com/article/128679


WASHINGTON — A GOP plan to raise taxes by $290 billion over the next decade would limit deductions for mortgage interest, charitable donations and state and local taxes as part of a deficit-reduction deal. Some workers could also see their employer-provided health benefits taxed for the first time, though aides cautioned that the plan is still fluid.

[TheDictator]

http://gazette.com/article/128679

Thank you, What you did not say is that they would lower the tax rate that would make up for the deduction.

[KC]

We should stop taxing corporations altogether. They are more than happy to pass the cost of taxes on to the consumer, who is ultimately the loser in all of this.

[Mainecoons]

Yeah, libs like to leave out the good parts, eh?

Hey Jimbo, still waiting for your "proof" that your liberal friends at Google are lawbreakers.

:rofl:

[Mainecoons]

We should stop taxing corporations altogether. They are more than happy to pass the cost of taxes on to the consumer, who is ultimately the loser in all of this.

Agree, but I would only exempt corporations who produce their goods/services in the U.S. using American citizen employees.

Zero for them, a competitive and simple rate for the rest.

The U.S. has now slipped to #18 in the world in terms of competitiveness. Even the Japanese figured out their corporate taxes were costing them business.

Not the Democrats, though, they are convinced that the source of wealth is more government employees.

:grin:

[Chris]

We should stop taxing corporations altogether. They are more than happy to pass the cost of taxes on to the consumer, who is ultimately the loser in all of this.

Novel idea, tax less. Corporations might then stay here, foreign corps come here, meaning more jobs. Consumers, among them those with the new jobs, might buy more for lower prices increasing demand, meaning more jobs. But there must be something unfair there, something.

[Chris]

Agree, but I would only exempt corporations who produce their goods/services in the U.S. using American citizen employees.

Zero for them, a competitive and simple rate for the rest.

The U.S. has now slipped to #18 in the world in terms of competitiveness. Even the Japanese figured out their corporate taxes were costing them business.

Not the Democrats, though, they are convinced that the source of wealth is more government employees.

:grin:

Somewhat paternalistic but a step in the right direction that would incentivize corporations to stay here, return here, come here. But there must be something unfair there, something.

[KC]

Novel idea, tax less. Corporations might then stay here, foreign corps come here, meaning more jobs. Consumers, among them those with the new jobs, might buy more for lower prices increasing demand, meaning more jobs. But there must be something unfair there, something.

Well, I would support a tax on consumption in general (a light, even one on all good and services), so in my ideal world lifting corporate taxes would be exchanged for a tax on goods and services, but the advantage is that would be transparent, so consumers would know where they are paying for taxes. Consumers are currently paying taxes indirectly through the increased cost of production, but the cost is hidden so they never see it. It should be taxed openly, evenly and fairly.

[patrickt]

Mainecoons: "Not the Democrats, though, they are convinced that the source of wealth is more government employees."

You forget the high value they place on those on perpetual unemployment and life on the dole. According to leftists, they're the real stimulus for the economy.

[TheDictator]

It should be taxed openly, evenly and fairly.

But that is not the Democratic Party way.

[KC]

But that is not the Democratic Party way.

Well I guess it's good I don't support the Democratic Party I suppose.

[Chris]

Well, I would support a tax on consumption in general (a light, even one on all good and services), so in my ideal world lifting corporate taxes would be exchanged for a tax on goods and services, but the advantage is that would be transparent, so consumers would know where they are paying for taxes. Consumers are currently paying taxes indirectly through the increased cost of production, but the cost is hidden so they never see it. It should be taxed openly, evenly and fairly.

And in exchange for a consumption tax, like, for instance, the Fair Tax, rescind income taxes.

I don't think Congress is too well known for removing taxes.

[KC]

And in exchange for a consumption tax, like, for instance, the Fair Tax, rescind income taxes.

I don't think Congress is too well known for removing taxes.

Nah, but we can dream. :smiley:

[Chris]

Or rebel. :-) :Skeert:

[Taxcutter]

Why shouldn't he?

The government made the rules.

Apple played by those rules and prospered.