Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Plans $350 Billion Boost to U.S. Economy Over 5 Years, 20,000 New Jobs, and a New Campus [Updated]

Rogifan said:
And now we’ll get comments after comment about how if only Apple would pay it’s fair share of taxes. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
would be good for them to pay the taxes in the countries the revenue was generated. Governments need to work together to close the loopholes that companies use...
 
bluespark said:
It's too bad the comments here are so partisan and so devoid of nuance. I'll attempt to add some:

As to the new tax bill, yes, it plays a direct role on this. Under the new bill, companies can repatriate overseas holdings for a one-time tax of 15.5%. That is new, it's aimed squarely at Apple, and it accounts for the $38B in taxes that Apple is willing to pay on these holdings. Put differently, Apple has said all along that it wanted to bring this money back to the U.S., but would do so only at a more favorable rate. Now that it prevailed, it is doing so. That $38B is a big victory for the U.S. economy.

So does this mean the new tax bill is good for America's economy and its middle class? No and no. Tax bills -- this one in particular -- are big, complex things. While the repatriation benefit was very welcome, the bill contains numerous problems, some of them quite significant. First, it provides enormous tax benefits to wealthy individuals and does so in a variety of ways. None of this is needed, as these individuals were already undertaxed by most metrics. At the same time, many (not all) in the middle class will be pinched by losing key deductions. This nonsensically makes income inequality worse, and it's a big problem already. Apart from a basic lack of fairness, income inequality hinders growth by concentrating wealth among people less likely to spend their money (and thereby create jobs). Second, the tax bill enormously inflates the deficit. This means the economy will be worse (far worse, actually) all else equal, for the next generation. It's good politics but very bad public policy to benefit current voters at the expense of future ones. Third, to the extent the tax plan provides a short term stimulus (and it will), it's improperly timed. We currently are in a "hot" economy, caused by various long-term and cyclical factors. The economy is growing and jobs are being added. Adding stimulus now increases inflation and leaves us without a mechanism for stimulus when it is needed (i.e., when the economy cools off, which also will happen within the next few years). Thus, for our feast now, we must endure a harder famine later.

Since this stuff is inherently political, it should be noted that it's very possible to argue for lower corporate taxes, a reasonably low repatriation tax (at least on occasion) and *higher* taxes on wealthy individuals. There are even solid metrics on how this should work, i.e., what those taxes can look like before incentives to develop wealth are reduced. There's no contradiction between saying overall that this tax plan is deeply problematic, and acknowledging that it will lead to some positive things along the way. Unfortunately, those passing the bill understood that most of the problems will be felt after they leave office.

For the above reasons, the tax bill is much better for Republicans politically than it is for the U.S. economy, and everyone in Washington knows that. At the same time, Apple's announcement is good news and should be celebrated. We should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.
Click to expand...

So so many mistakes in this
 
samcraig said:
I'd be more curious as to whether or not this is/was because of the new tax plan and Trump's administration. Or if this is just business as usual for Apple...
Click to expand...


This is my question. I found it funny that he had the Intel CEO beside him talking about the new 5nm fabrication plant being built in America - the one that was planned 5 years before that and was going to happen regardless of tax cuts.
 
KPOM said:
Tax heist? It’s a combination of tax cuts and tax increases. In the grand scheme of things it improves the competitiveness of the US. Even Obama thought the corporate tax rate should be lower than what it was.
Click to expand...

The net loss of revenue is not paid for by reducing spending. The corporate rate changes are permanent, the individual ones expire and are further made dicey by referencing deductions associated with taxpayer's state of residence. It's a heist, and we are just not sure yet whose ox is going to be gored to pay for the thing.
 
WAM2 said:
Are you in Antifa? Black Lives Matter? Maybe an SJW?

The world is just so cruel to you, and you wish you could worship your black president again.
Click to expand...
Obama was a horrible President and the economy grew very modestly IN SPITE of him. However, it has absolutely no relevance to his race. Leave it out. Furthermore, he was as much white as black.
 
ksnell said:
...still waiting on proof.

If by standard Republican orthodoxy you mean the government letting people keep more of the money they earn, then yes.
Click to expand...
What proof do you have that Trump was pushing for typical republican tax policy on his own? Let’s not forget in 1999 he proposed a 14% wealth tax. Trump knew if he wanted to run as a Republican he had to suppor tax cuts and conservative judges.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LizKat
BruiserBear said:
You must be easily confused. No one predicted the tax bill would be hard on giant corporations like Apple. It’s literally a dream come true for most of them.

It’s the average person making 40k a year that is in big trouble in the long run.
Click to expand...

The lower and middle class don't care about the long run. We can only afford to care about our next paycheck and how we will get through all the bills in the coming month, who care about the long run. Nobody knows what will really happen in the long run.
 
WAM2 said:
This is Trump's tax bill, and it's fantastic.
Click to expand...

Not his bill per se but the president is the one who'll always be remembered if history has taught us anything.

that said always remember the efforts of the previous president and administration sets up for the next presidents actions. many where favorable.

All said and done let's not fully celebrate here:
interest rates can go up another 3-4 timex expected this 2018 year at full points (not incremental basis points) meaning cost of living will go up dramatically.
jobs offered still doesn't mean they can goto non-american citizens or to visa holders. The USA Education system for K12 still needs to be bolstered.
$250 billion is a LOT of money in 5yrs ... a LOT!
I don't think a lot of these jobs will goto those in middle class vs students for the most part.

still with CitiBank, Apple and many other companies this is great news!

Now what will the Government actually DO with this cash hord? Spend 80% on the military alone just to send kids of the middle class that joined the military to die for something as ridiculous as war? What will be done next THAT is where the vision needs to turn to.
 
LizKat said:
The net loss of revenue is not paid for by reducing spending. The corporate rate changes are permanent, the individual ones expire and are further made dicey by referencing deductions associated with taxpayer's state of residence. It's a heist, and we are just not sure yet whose ox is going to be gored to pay for the thing.
Click to expand...
No one is going to let the individual cuts expire. The 2003 cuts were “temporary” and Obama and Congress extended virtually all of them. We tried spending cuts in 2013 and the same people criticizing this tax cut were opposed to the spending cuts back then.

I think we’ll see higher economic growth than what the CBO assumes.

Is the tax bill perfect? No. I’d have ditched the child tax credit, etc for lower top rates. Bigger economic impact. The mortgage interest deduction benefits mostly the wealthy and again with little economic benefit. At least they took a step in the right direction. And an even lower corporate rate would be nice. Other countries are going to respond. Heck, we are still above Canada (15%) the UK (19%) and Ireland (12.5%).
 
samcraig said:
I'd be more curious as to whether or not this is/was because of the new tax plan and Trump's administration.
Click to expand...

That was only part of the equation. The other half is that Ireland and the rest of EU decided they were owed billions in back taxes. Apple no longer benefits from whatever shells it relied on in those countries.
 
Defthand said:
That was only part of the equation. The other half is that Ireland and the rest of EU decided they were owed billions in back taxes. Apple no longer benefits from whatever shells it relied on in those countries.
Click to expand...

If the tax bill wasn't passed, they would have most likely have just shifted the money to a different tax haven.
 
KPOM said:
I think we’ll see higher economic growth than what the CBO assumes.
Click to expand...

Corporate tax cuts are statistically known to be a very weak form of economic stimulus. Just look at all the people complaining that GDP growth never averaged 3% or higher for a full year under Obama, and yet at the end of 2016 corporate tax rates relative to GDP were already at record lows. Sending them even lower isn't going to do much. The weak spot in the economy currently is general wage growth.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LizKat
KPOM said:
No one is going to let the individual cuts expire. The 2003 cuts were “temporary” and Obama and Congress extended virtually all of them. We tried spending cuts in 2013 and the same people criticizing this tax cut were opposed to the spending cuts back then.

I think we’ll see higher economic growth than what the CBO assumes.

Is the tax bill perfect? No. I’d have ditched the child tax credit, etc for lower top rates. Bigger economic impact. The mortgage interest deduction benefits mostly the wealthy and again with little economic benefit. At least they took a step in the right direction. And an even lower corporate rate would be nice. Other countries are going to respond. Heck, we are still above Canada (15%) the UK (19%) and Ireland (12.5%).
Click to expand...

This thing has some interesting charts in it. Trickle down is a hard sell. So are tax cuts. Especially the ones that are not paid for. And especially in an economy that depends on consumer spending but is now controlled by a political party that prefers to consider labor a compressible material cost rather than an investment in human potential.
 
MistrSynistr said:
It literally has EVERYTHING to do with Trump being President and Trump arranging this for the people.

He will teach you how to win, believe me.
Click to expand...

The libs are already claiming this is Obama’s economy, not Trump’s or the Republican’s. Obama is is responsible for this surging economy. They live in an alternate universe of course.
 
lkrupp said:
The libs are already claiming this is Obama’s economy, not Trump’s or the Republican’s. Obama is is responsible for this surging economy. They live in an alternate universe of course.
Click to expand...

Trump was handed an economy that had already posted record corporate profits and record low corporate taxes relative to GDP at the end of 2016. And yet people are trying to sell corporate tax cuts in 2017 like it changed something. It's just creating further saturation of $$ in an area of the economy that was already flush with cash.
 
gnipgnop said:
Trump was handed an economy that had already posted record corporate profits and record low corporate taxes relative to GDP at the end of 2016. And yet people are trying to sell corporate tax cuts in 2017 like it changed something. It's just creating further saturation of $$ in an area of the economy that was already flush with cash.
Click to expand...

In all honestly, where would the DOW be if Mrs. Clinton was President? Would it be over 26,000? Over a 25% increase?
 
I'd be willing to bet that part of that 350 million is the taxes that they'll be paying to officially pull "off shored" money into the states. Very carefully worded descriptions of what the money will be used for.
 
Defthand said:
That was only part of the equation. The other half is that Ireland and the rest of EU decided they were owed billions in back taxes. Apple no longer benefits from whatever shells it relied on in those countries.
Click to expand...

would you rather have the US have the tax money or the EU?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Huck
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back