And Apple provides jobs, products, and services that bolster a country's economy through taxes.
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Nobel-Winning Economist Calls Apple's Irish Tax Arrangement 'Fraud'
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And Apple provides jobs, products, and services that bolster a country's economy through taxes.
Because it is not about the tax rat that you would pay at your normal tax rate, but rather the possibilities of tax constructions that allow you to lower your tax rate, which has nothing to do with your actual business.
So then just raise all the tax rates so their rate will have to increase as a result.
And only because people buy their products apple makes profits. Yet - somehow - the ordinary people don't pay their taxes in Ireland ?!?!?
Agreed. The government is responsible for the byzantine tax code that allows for this to happen. As long as Apple is following the law I have no problem with them trying to lower their tax bill.
I do the same thing with my personal taxes. I take all of the deductions I'm entitled to.
You said you wanted a fair tax code. So now your solution is to rig the tax code to make up for apples bad behavior?
Wow.
The laws existed before Apple. The specific rules have been used by big international corporations for decades. It was probably put in by IBM, the Pharmas, and the Big 6 back in the day.
I suppose this is part of the continuing assault on Apple by government flunkies for beating down the FBI.
I suppose this is part of the continuing assault on Apple by government flunkies for beating down the FBI.
Since all do the same thing you can't just talk about Apple as if it's a CRIMINAl company.
My opinion is that all these big companies actually pay not enough taxes and all these loopholes must be closed, but let's not ******** around talking about moral and what not when all these companies do is follow legal guidelines to maximize profit.
Currently no laws have been broken. Period. End of story.
Apple is a huge target and if it was fraud, the someone would be taking Apple to court. It is simply not fraud, no matter that you missed what "obeying the laws" means in school. You evidently did pay attention to the indoctrination that all corporations are evil, and all politicians are good and there to protect the individual, because neither of those are true either.
You want to blame someone you should blame the government. Some corporations probably did pay to have these laws, because they have been around forever, way before Apple became the largest. But in the end, I'll bet you supported these same politicians that passed these laws, sell off our freedoms, and financial security so their buddies can get rich, all the time thinking you were voting for equality or some such. It is the biggest fraud in history and people like you have no idea and no capability to even recognize it.
So the problem is not even the government, it is the voter. The one that puts single personal issues above corruption, greed, honesty, and integrity. One can only hold honest people responsible for their actions. Today we don't have one single honest person in government, yet no one cares, because their pet concern is being made to look important and it allows them to easily fall asleep at night. Really no different than being on pain pills 24 x 7. Sounds good, so no worries.
Try just looking a little deeper into what really happens in Washington, it would be really good for the country (ours or others).
The tax law is just a legal way to do that. It is sort of like when Apple doesn't upgrade their hardware after several years and then says "Well, nobody is buying this stuff so we are going to stop selling it.". It isn't fraud, just being a jerk.
I didn't say they were criminal. And yes you are right. All companies behave wrong in that way. The author didn't deny that the other companies are just as bad if not worse. He just happened to talk about apple. Which is not unjustified because it might just be the company with the most cash i.e. The richest.
Discussions like this always are held with an example - a poster model if you will.
Yes you are right. They aren't the only one. But it is wrong to defend them because they are not the only one.
Actually, fair would be raising my taxes and the taxes of every American citizen while lowering the cooperate tax rate to zero.
"Joseph Stiglitz, an economic professor at Columbia University..."
I stopped reading after this part.
I stopped reading after this part.
Agreed. The word fraud is wrong. But I think he basically just wanted to say their behavior isn't right.
Obama was also a nobel prize winner so I'm not sure how putting Nobel prize winner in front of his name makes people take his opinions on Apple taxes seriously 
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No one is defending anything, because there is no reason to do so. And Apple has mmost cash not because they are best at avoiding taxes, because they worked hard for many decades creating and selling devices that changed computing and peoples lives.
How is that fair? Clearly money needs to be taxed every single time it changes hands so the government has more to misspend and overspend with. Just tax until there's nothing left.
While that may be true, it is also true that governments around the world spend and waste too much money and that we citizens are taxed to much. The only thing that happens when corporation taxes go up, is that the price of goods goes up. Taxing corporations is just a way to hide taxes on consumers. What you are really asking is to raise individual taxes, and rather than hide that why not just do it up front and say, "We need to have our individual taxes raised", because that is what you are saying.
Obama is also a nobel prize winner so I'm not sure how putting Nobel prize winner in front of his name makes people take his opinions on Apple taxes seriously
Yeah cause no one takes Nobel Prize winner seriously since the are all stupid and have done nothing with their lives...
Bear in mind Stiglitz was the guy paid by Rolex-wearing Argentinian socialist ex-president Kirchner, who is now herself under investigation for fraud by the Argentine people, to get away with not paying their debts on Argentinian bonds - he said that was fraud too. She destroyed the Argentinian economy, seizing foreign assets left right and centre. Stieglitz took his money and moved on to Greece.
He was also paid by Greek Communist disasters Tsipras and international playboy Iannis Varoufakis, to try to get Greece to walk away from all its obligations by not paying debtors - he called the EU fraudsters for wanting something in return for a bailout. Varoufakis got kicked out and is now under investigation by the Greek people. They destroyed the Greek economy.
So now he's moving on to Apple. The guy's a joke. Sweden, being a socialist country, couldn't bear to give the Nobel prize to a free-market economists Akerlof and Spence so gave one the same year to commie Stieglitz to even the score. It's like Arafat Perez Rabin getting the Peace Prize. Kinda ridiculous.
He was also paid by Greek Communist disasters Tsipras and international playboy Iannis Varoufakis, to try to get Greece to walk away from all its obligations by not paying debtors - he called the EU fraudsters for wanting something in return for a bailout. Varoufakis got kicked out and is now under investigation by the Greek people. They destroyed the Greek economy.
So now he's moving on to Apple. The guy's a joke. Sweden, being a socialist country, couldn't bear to give the Nobel prize to a free-market economists Akerlof and Spence so gave one the same year to commie Stieglitz to even the score. It's like Arafat Perez Rabin getting the Peace Prize. Kinda ridiculous.
They aren't the best at avoiding taxes. But they are just as good/bad as google, Samsung, etc.
And yes they make amazing devices and enrich people's lives. Isn't it possible that a company can do both good and base things and that you can criticize their behavior at one point and still be a fan ?
Who cares what this guy thinks. The whole Nobel thing is a massive fraud!