No actually it was to point out that Apple shells its money in Ireland at 2% and has the audacity to say theyd like thier taxes lowered by 10% and would consider bringing back the shelled money if they could pay the same percentage of tax on it that you pay on a cup of coffee.
Get your facts straight.
Did you catch the part where Apple pays 30.5% US taxes on US profits? Compare that to G.E. who had a tax credit in recent years due to the messed up tax laws that give different deductions to each industry. G.E. actually took money out of the tax coffers. Apple is paying nearly twice of most American citizens pay.
Just because Ireland courted Apple to base their
International operations in that country with a 2% tax rate it does not mean that Apple is cheating the USA out of taxes. Ireland decided to give Apple a 2% tax rate so 100% of Apple's international operations would be based out of Ireland and therefore Ireland would get 2% of a much larger number rather than 15% of a much smaller number. Something the USA should look into considering the 35% repatriation tax we charge in the United States.
What is Levin's problem? He thinks that sales of products built overseas, shipped overseas, sold in foreign retail stores to foreign customers should carry a larger US tax burden even though they were
NOT built with US infrastructure in any way.
What part does Levin contest? He thinks that that these sales should essentially carry an Intellectual Property surcharge back to US-based Apple, Inc. and therefore the US would be able to tax foreign sales. Instead, Apple has setup a scenario where the Ireland-based holding company holds shares IP rights with the US-based Apple, Inc. The Ireland-based company has the rights to sell products with that intellectual property internationally. Keep in mind that Apple's biggest profit center is the USA and much of that "intellectual property" was developed by people educated in China, India, and Japan who just happen to live in Cupertino, CA now and work for Apple. Sure Americans worked on much of the IP too, but its a real stretch to say that because those people were educated in the USA that a percentage of their works that are built, advertised and sold overseas should come back to the USA.
Apple probably pays a higher corporate tax rate than 90% of the companies out there. Take one look at the automotive industry or companies like GE and you will see where the real problem is.
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Well, they never really answer the question anyway, right? A simple question that only needs a yes or no, ends up with 10 sentences where 9 of them were irrelevant, and only there to confuse you.
Oppenheimer could not even finish one sentence. Levin was trying to imply that the 2008 agreement "shifted" things. In reality, it simply renewed the exact same agreement that was signed in 1980. No shift at all. But Levin would not let Oppenheimer say that and kept cutting him off. Sometimes Oppenheimer barely uttered a sound when Levin started talking over him. Like a judge in a court room you can't get into a shouting match with the guy because he runs the room. Total abuse of his position for grand-standing.
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Yup. Levin comes off looking like the Lame Old School Piece of Detroit Iron of yesteryear.
This is his last Congress. Forget about it. It will be back to WWDC by Friday.
He's not running again, but I hear the guy the Democrats are putting up instead (Gary Peters) is just as bad. There is also evidence pointing to Levin being behind the IRS scandal targeting conservative groups to hold up their tax exempt status. This is probably why he is not running again -- because his own party would throw him under the bus to distance themselves from that scandal.
