If you want to talk about fair we can discuss why Apple is targeted and not every other Fortune 500 company that does the same thing. Since the headline and quote mention 'fraud', I'm only concerned with legal because that's what fraud refers to.
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Nobel-Winning Economist Calls Apple's Irish Tax Arrangement 'Fraud'
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Tell me how following the law, while lowering your taxes, in order to comply with your fiduciary responsibility to your shareholders, is fraud. I'll wait.
Actually we tried this in 2004. The Bush administration, facing a sagging economy, negotiated a deal with several large companies in various industries to repatriate billions of dollars at 4% to facilitate creating or maintaining America jobs.
Instead, they used the money to buy back their own stock, pay out huge bonuses to executives, and lay off thousands of those American workers this whole thing was supposed to help. Ford, Pfizer and others are guilty of this.
I have to (grudgingly) give Kudos to the GWB administration for trying this. They just needed to attach a few more strings to keep the greedy executives honest.
The whole Dutch Sandwich tax trick may not be illegal, but it would be if we all did it. It involves moving IP rights around, and is probably why the tech companies don't fight harder for patent troll legislation. Those same laws allow them to circumvent paying taxes.
Yes, we should lower the US tax rate (probably). BUT, we should vastly simplify and remove loopholes at the same time. The tax code is growing faster than the national debt on a percentage basis.
Im sorry but if you want to live as you live you either pay higher taxes or corporates pay taxes. You dont get both. It doesnt matter how much usa is printing new money, they are already living the life the cant afford.
While corporates can choose, you cant. But... When corporates do illegal agreements like apple has with ireland, it is just wrong for everyone.
The IRS disagrees:
Everything Apple has done is legal. Believe me, they are under unparalleled scrutiny on this matter. If you don't like what they're doing, work to get the law changed. But know this, as an Apple shareholder, I will fight you tooth and nail on it.
The laws as they stand are very much wrong. The point at which a man in the street can't pay the same tax rate as apple is where it's fraud. FULL STOP. there is no ifs ands or buts sorry but the laws are broken and should be remedied.
Ummm... Most men on the street in the U.S. pay a lower tax rate than Apple. FULL STOP.
If Apple did something illegal- wouldn't the IRS be after them? What illegal activity is Apple engaging in?
They can do whatever agreements they want but then then there are others that weights was it illegal or not.. Goverments and companies just cant make agreements about everything and get throught it... Thank god!