I feel that the debate here would be much better served if it were split into two separate threads, as there are essentially two different things being debated, which is leading to confusion. Whilst together, the discussion is rather obfuscated somewhat.
Firstly the US tax issue is something – as a British person – I am not informed or clued-up enough on to discuss. From a brief overview it seems there is a worthwhile debate to be had on the whole topic, as it does seem somewhat unfair to corporations/US citizens etc.
The second issue, namely Apple funnelling off its revenue made in one country to another which operates as a tax haven, thereby avoiding paying the tax owed in the country of purchase:
For a start, can we drop the lexical semantics in regards to the word avoid, from those clutching at straws as a way of defending what Apple do? It's ridiculous, time-wasting and proves your point no better. If Apple is using legal loopholes to move money to one country – as so to pay a lower rate of tax than that of the country they moved it from – they are by matter of fact doing so to avoid the higher threshold. There's no legality issue here in using the word, it just is – objectively – avoidance; it's what the word is in the English language for.
avoid;
contrive not to
contrive;
create or bringabout (an object or a situation) by deliberate use of skill and artifice
When Apple registers to do business in a country like the UK, it does so knowing – and acknowledging – to meet the requirements stipulated by that country in regards to the taxation of its monetary income from business in that country. That loopholes are found to avoid doing this whilst staying within the parameters of the law is a side issue: It is to me in the first instance underhand, dishonest, anticompetitive (to those companies who do acknoweldge and abide by them) and ultimately to the detriment of the people who live in that country.
In the United Kingdom we have the NHS. We are wonderfully privileged and lucky to have a health service that is free of charge to treat us. Any hour of the day, any illness or emergency, any length of time to recover in a hospital needed, 99% of this taken care of completely free. It's a truly brilliant thing that far too many people take for granted. Our NHS currently faces fierce cuts which leads to an inability to meet its obligations. Waiting times to get seen, over-worked staff, budgets for drugs, new staff recruitment and training, all these things are deteriorating because the budget is either been cut or the costs of operating it outweigh the budget currently attributed to it.
The NHS is an easy one to use as an example... In the UK, if you are arrested and charged with a crime, and summoned to court to defend yourself – if you cannot afford to do so the state will provide you with legal representation for free. This isn't some Simpsons budget charlatan lawyer but the finest legal professionals in the country who will fight your case fairly and unbiased, all for free of charge. They will ensure you are given equality before the law. It's called Legal Aid, and the budgets for this have been completely slashed, meaning the ability to make sure you are represented and defended fairly deteriorates.
In the UK, when you retire, if you have or haven't saved for a pension when you retire, the state will provide you with one.
If you suddenly find yourself out of work – or owing to the recession or any other factor you can't get employment – the state will provide you with money to live off.
If you are disabled, or have child with a disability under your care or supervision, the state will provide you with services to ensure you are supported – be it monetary, transport, housing, apparatus, education and so on. The budgets for this have been drastically slashed. Vulnerable people are suffering because of the changes to funding, those who need assistance the most can't get it.
Libraries, which are free of charge to borrow books from, are closing left right and centre, especially small community libraries. Mankind's wealth of knowledge and learning is in these books, which is now less accessible to people who want to learn.
These are just a small and off the top of my head selection of services afforded to citizens of our country, paid for by the raising of funds via taxation. They are the cornerstone of a well-rounded British society, giving care to the vulnerable, education to everyone, health services to anyone. We are given these indiscriminately as citizens of the country, and in return we agree to be taxed on a certain proportion of our monetary income to pay for them. It's a glorious system that whilst by no means perfect, has been the fruits of many thousands of years of battle and struggle for, and which in my opinion makes our society better for it; a better place to live for all.
By agreeing to partake in business in this country, a company acknowledges these facets and agrees to operate in accordance with them, for as long as they operate here they will be afforded the same rights and services as anyone else. From day one they take on a moral obligation to operate in a just and fair way – the same way the rest of us do. If not self-employed and on a proper payroll system, we all automatically have a portion of our wages deducted that has been democratically agreed upon to be a fair proportional contribution in the context of our salary.
For one of the past years Apple paid £11.4m tax in the UK on what would be £billions of revenue (we all know Apple's lovely profit margins). It's widely acknowledged their taxation in this country is under 1%. I don't care if it's legal, I don't care if Tim Cook gets the best deal for the shareholders, and I don't care about the pathetic semantics of how you want to dress it up, in my eyes it is nothing short disgusting. It is shameful that they will reap the monetary benefits of operating within a country, but are unwilling to pay their dues to the country that they are stipulated to do so for being able to operate in. It is taking but not giving. They have a legal, moral, and human obligation to pay the dues required of them – they agreed to do so by doing business there – because it is these dues that help the country operate and carry out their services to their citizens.
I remember reading Johny Ive bitching about how he went to a school and they didn't draw or make anything physical when prototyping. Hey Johny, guess how those machines are funded in our free education system?
If Apple, Amazon, Starbucks, Dyson, and all the other deplorable companies paid the dues they agreed to pay as a stipulation of operating in this country, many more people wouldn't die owing to poor waiting times; go through unnecessary pain because the treatment or drugs won't be prescribed as they're outside of the current NHS budget; more young children (and old people) would have much better access to free books to educate themselves and learn more about the world, our society would be safer because our Police service wouldn't be facing cuts to it's numbers; the disabled, vulnerable and in-need of our country would be getting a much better service that we a human beings owe; the elderly would have more money to live off; and people on the whole would have a better quality of life. That is the concept of tax – to fund services that lead to a better quality of life.
It's a service that we subscribe to and reap the fruits of by the very nature of our location and residence. Unfortunately Apple et al are conning that, and that is wrong, wrong on so many levels.
