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This is just stupid.

I'm all for private companies making profits and such - but why do Apple really need tax breaks when they have over $100 billion in the bank?

It's especially the case with the income and distribution of wealth. Apple looks for tax breaks yet those working in the lowest wage (probably doing the most work than some top paid execs) paying departments producing Apple products in factories can barely afford to live.

Apple should be producing everything in the United States - and it's the United States governments fault for not acting quick enough when these technology companies started shifting production to Asia and beyond. It's not political, it's moral and ethics we're talking here and it's the fault of whose at the top of both Apple and the US government.

Apple is a business. Not a charity. Their goal is to maximize profits for their shareholders.
 
It's unbelievable how far over states and cities bend to attract investment. So many times the tax forgiven is greater than the tax benefit of employed workers.

Companies like Apple, play them like fiddles.

It's explained with the line, "We want your jobs and we want the income tax from the jobs but we don't want you disturbing our political strata by making too many people rich that are not from around here and not part of the right families."

Way too many mid-American community leaders have a multi-generation long fear of someone with a family name not on a local university building getting as rich and powerful as the established families who own the local banks.

These sweetheart deals keeps the local banking families in the upper crust while the "crazy California and New York types" just reap on cheap domestic labor while keeping residency on the coasts.

Worked with many from middle-America who almost got an upper hand in their community to find themselves on the short end of a political stick fighting off ridiculous tax assessments, targeted labor organization and even re-interpretation of local environmental regulations to drive them out of town.

It's amazing how the ordinary Joe's of a community never see this and believe everything the local media says.
 
Confused?

"Foreign trade zone"? :confused:

This means the products made will be exported out of the country.( i.e. foreign trade) This is a good thing, hence the tax break for said zones. I assume you've heard about the trade deficit?

What's sad is the profound economic illiteracy on display in this thread. But don't feel bad, after all ~90% of economists are illiterate too. That's why they're always too high or too low and revising indicators.
 
That is the lie people do not understand. Since the early 80's there has been an emergence of consulting companies that help other companies determine the maximum price they can charge consumers. There no longer is a standard formula companies use to sell their products bases off of raw material costs and labor. These lower taxes are nothing more than a transfer of wealth to the top.

Precisely. Companies price items and services in order to sell the most items at the highest possible price. It has nothing to do with how much the item costs to produce, they just want the largest profit margin possible. If they have to pay higher taxes it won't do anything but cut into their profit margin. Their customer base hasn't changed so they can still only really sell things at the same prices if they want to maintain sales. The demand side if the market sets prices, not the supply side. (A company could try and ration their product to drive up prices, but that is unrealistic in most consumer markets because it would just lead to a negative brand image and unhappy customers.)
 
That is the lie people do not understand. Since the early 80's there has been an emergence of consulting companies that help other companies determine the maximum price they can charge consumers. There no longer is a standard formula companies use to sell their products bases off of raw material costs and labor. These lower taxes are nothing more than a transfer of wealth to the top.

Even further, it's been true since BC that you sell based on supply and demand.

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Having various American governmental bodies competing against each other is retarded.
The rest of the world thinks we are nuts about this.


BTW "In before..." is lame.

The rest of the world has competing governmental bodies or, worse, a civil war. Or communism.

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The way communities whore them selves like this....
So what corporations basically say is that they want to use all the local infrastructure and not have to pay for it....so everyone else's taxes go up to compensate.
Sure, they bring in some jobs....so what. All communities should just say no. What will happen, corps not build new plants?

The corporation still pays some tax, and those with jobs pay tax. The community makes plenty of money. If one state in the US managed to establish a bare minimum tax zone, they'd steal business from all over the States just like Mexico. I'm afraid this is already happening with Georgia making their cities look like Los Angeles and giving tax breaks to attract the film industry leaving the ridiculous California tax zone.

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I'm all for private companies making profits and such - but why do Apple really need tax breaks when they have over $100 billion in the bank?

Business is not about making some money. It's about making as much money as possible.
 
In before the pro-IRS crowd complains about big companies getting tax breaks. If you create hundreds of jobs in my state I would gladly vote on it!

Sorry, your too late. The guy ahead of you is pro IRS. ;)
 
This is just stupid.

I'm all for private companies making profits and such - but why do Apple really need tax breaks when they have over $100 billion in the bank?

It's especially the case with the income and distribution of wealth. Apple looks for tax breaks yet those working in the lowest wage (probably doing the most work than some top paid execs) paying departments producing Apple products in factories can barely afford to live.

Apple should be producing everything in the United States - and it's the United States governments fault for not acting quick enough when these technology companies started shifting production to Asia and beyond. It's not political, it's moral and ethics we're talking here and it's the fault of whose at the top of both Apple and the US government.

When did you first realize that life is not fair? Have you come to realize that all people are not created equal? The smart, clever, hardworking people seem to rise to the top of the heap? You believe they should be smart, clever, hardworking, but also, generous and giving? They should be a cross between Steve Jobs and Mother Teresa? All you have to do is convince the people at the top of business and government to make dramatic personality changes and become totally different people, the kind of people who you want them to be.
Good Luck... Check back and let us know how it's going. ;)
 
How nice.

If you are one of the richest corporations in the world, you get major tax breaks.

If you are a small business, you get slammed with taxes and effectively have to pay to support Apple's tax breaks (because the money has to come from somewhere).

The whole system is screwed up.
 
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How nice.

If you are one of the richest corporations in the world, you get major tax breaks.

If you are a small business, you get slammed with taxes and effectively have to pay to support Apple's tax breaks (because the money has to come from somewhere).

The whole system is screwed up.

You've got to realize, according to the politicians that go on and on about how important small business is, they're thinking about walmart and at&t as small businesses ;)
 
this is ridiculous! Every small company has to pay full taxes yet those large corporations with billions of profits get tax cuts.... all while even the (considered) rich countries are drowning in debt.

Screw the politicians that make this possible!

Calm down. The economic reasoning is sound with the state approving this. If they didn't, Apple will gladly take it somewhere else. They are getting a tax break right now but will have created jobs and more tax revenue for the state in the long run.

Corporations create jobs. If a small business creates that many jobs then yes, give them a tax break.
 
How nice.

If you are one of the richest corporations in the world, you get major tax breaks.

If you are a small business, you get slammed with taxes and effectively have to pay to support Apple's tax breaks (because the money has to come from somewhere).

The whole system is screwed up.

Nope.
 
I don't get it. Apple is providing the manufacturing plant AND $578,000,000 and GT Advanced is providing what exactly? Sapphire expertise? It seems nuts that these partnerships are a wise strategic move......
 
Who on this board goes out of their way to pay more in taxes? If it's a measure you advocate, I'd love to see you write a check to the IRS just for the heck of it.

These tax breaks happen because the communities benefit and get a greater economic boost from the large influx of jobs over corporate taxes.

Jobs > taxes. If you disagree than you think Detroit can be fixed by raising corporate taxes and driving out business over attracting businesses and creating jobs.
 
Unpatriotic. We celebrate veterans' day because of the work veterans do in the national interest. But there are many ways of working for the national interest. For some reason, we don't think of paying our taxes as in our nation's interest.

Apple is also avoiding paying social security tax for thousands of people in the US who are working jobs indistinguishable from its employees but who are classified as contractors for tax purposes.

Veterans have to pay taxes as well, even while serving. So everyone is working for the national interest. But veterans served above that. They were willing to die. That's why we celebrate them.
 
This is just stupid.

I'm all for private companies making profits and such - but why do Apple really need tax breaks when they have over $100 billion in the bank?

It's especially the case with the income and distribution of wealth. Apple looks for tax breaks yet those working in the lowest wage (probably doing the most work than some top paid execs) paying departments producing Apple products in factories can barely afford to live.

Apple should be producing everything in the United States - and it's the United States governments fault for not acting quick enough when these technology companies started shifting production to Asia and beyond. It's not political, it's moral and ethics we're talking here and it's the fault of whose at the top of both Apple and the US government.

Because otherwise the empty land would remain empty and generate little or no tax revenue. Apple builds a plant, creates jobs, and generates massive tax revenue.

90% of something > Nothing

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How nice.

If you are one of the richest corporations in the world, you get major tax breaks.

If you are a small business, you get slammed with taxes and effectively have to pay to support Apple's tax breaks (because the money has to come from somewhere).

The whole system is screwed up.

Apple is paying tax. A lot more tax than the empty land generated...
 
I'm sure Apple can afford to pay whatever the tax that is required to the regular business in AZ. However, since many communities are fighting to get big companies to locate or build something in their own backyards, it would be foolish for Apple not to take advantage of the tax break available, because Apple is a for-profit company.

Every company when given a chance to pay less taxes, they will do it; Apple is no exception.
 
Corporations create jobs. If a small business creates that many jobs then yes, give them a tax break.

Small businesses collectively create plenty of jobs, but none of them get any tax breaks. It's not fair. They should make it cheaper for all corporations... which includes getting rid of this socialist new healthcare mess that targets small businesses owners and successful investors extremely disproportionately.
 
Funny, I see some European/socialist thinking here, but also a lot of good old fashion US thinking. Had this been in the 1980s, there would not have been that much of a discussion.

Believe it or not, over here in my country there's now an uproar about lowered taxes for everyone. We do not want lower taxes, we want to pay more, to make sure the social benefits gets better again. We've had somewhat 'rightish' government for some years now and they've lowered taxes for everyone, but that does not come for free; hospitals gets understaffed, care for elderly gets contracted out to lowest bidder=crappier service, the social benefits for unemployed and sick get lowered or removed, infrastructure deteriorate and people have had enough of it. A few hundred $ more every month is not worth the dismantling of the country.
 
Those 700 permanent jobs will all be taxed... permanently. The temporary 2,000 will be taxed as well. All of those people are buying things locally (sales tax), renting or buying properties (property tax), etc. Then everyone that services those workers will see business increase as well, thus more taxes and wages.

This will be a net benefit for the community, and is worth it. We've got to start trying to compete with the China's of the world, guys.

The problem is that it's not Apple vs China. It's not even US-based multi-nationals vs China.

It's multi-nationals vs the rest of us. It's about those in power protecting the incumbents, with that juicy non-executive directorship or campaign funding in their sights.

If you run a business and you want to reach the top, it's that much harder because those at the top are getting preferential treatment. They're introducing a market failure that harms the little guy. China doesn't give a damn, in fact they benefit, because they're the factories for these companies.

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Apple is a business. Not a charity. Their goal is to maximize profits for their shareholders.

Correct, but the States are supposed to be United.
 
Chill out

Guys, its a Free Zone not conspiracy to defraud the USA

Goods that leave the free zone and enter into the USA are taxed like any other goods...

What this lets apple do is employ American People and invest in and Develop a American business who make a product..

the product is sent out of america to lets say China to be built into your iPhone without being taxed on export because it was made in a free zone.

The complete phone is then shipped back to America where it is TAXED on import for the entire product...

I think the samsung chip fabs may have the same deal

The cost of everything goes way over the top when you tax a item leaving the country to china.. china then tax and duty on import.. they tax it again on export and then you tax and duty it once more time on import .....

Amazon and all big business also use Freezones as storage Hubs, the goods are only taxed once when they enter the country the free zone form a tax point of view is out side the country..

Freezones are good for business and the employment of local people...
 
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