"Oh shit, how do we dodge potential antitrust regulation?"
Timing is a wee bit suspicious isn’t it.
It's a forever on-going negotiation.
Apple commits $430B in US investments over five years
21–30 of 265 posts
Re: Apple commits $430B in US investments over five years
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
If crazy tax schemes are legal, that's the politicians' fault for not fixing them, not Apple's (who has a duty to shareholders to, you know, not pay more taxes than they have to).
Not attacking you, but I'm so tired of this: "...who has a duty to shareholders to, you know, not pay more taxes than they have to..." Let's make shareholders rich. It'll all trickle down from there...
>Let's make shareholders rich. It'll all trickle down from there...
This sounds like a strawman because GP wasn't making any claims about whether it's bad or not. Moreover, it's perfectly reasonable to expect that each individual tax payer to pay as little tax as possible. eg. are you going to claim all tax eligible tax credits/deductions on this year's returns?
Re: Apple commits $430B in US investments over five years
#23How about they pay taxes, for a start?
I get where you are coming from but what needs to change is the tax code, no public company, hell no normal individual, is going to pay more taxes than legally required.
Sure, but the immense amount of political capital Apple and other similar companies hold ensures that the tax code won't change.
Re: Apple commits $430B in US investments over five years
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
If crazy tax schemes are legal, that's the politicians' fault for not fixing them, not Apple's (who has a duty to shareholders to, you know, not pay more taxes than they have to).
Not attacking you, but I'm so tired of this: "...who has a duty to shareholders to, you know, not pay more taxes than they have to..." Let's make shareholders rich. It'll all trickle down from there...
It's a game of incentives, imo.
Companies (and people), one way or another, will always have to be expected to be greedy. This is why i'm pro-capitalism and pro-government. We can't hope for corporations to _not_ be greedy just because it's "possible". We have to expect/assume they are, and act accordingly.
Just like we can't give government entities absolute power. Checks and balances are needed in all of this. Reality is messy.
Do you see another way?
Re: Apple commits $430B in US investments over five years
#25Can anyone break down what the $430B is going towards?
Every news story I see if pretty much a rephrasing of this press release, so I don’t think there are much in the way of more details out there.
Re: Apple commits $430B in US investments over five years
#26How about they pay taxes, for a start?
> Today, Apple supports more than 2.7 million jobs across the country through direct employment, spending with US suppliers and manufacturers, and developer jobs in the thriving iOS app economy. Apple is the largest taxpayer in the US and has paid almost $45 billion in domestic corporate income taxes over the past five years alone.
I tried to look up this figure, using the following link:
https://www.stock-analysis-on.net/NASDAQ/Company/Apple-Inc/A...
If I add up the entries of the "federal" line, I get $69 billion for the 5 columns 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016. Am I doing something wrong here? This is only the federal tax, not even the state tax, which would probably count into "domestic corporate income taxes" too.
Re: Apple commits $430B in US investments over five years
#27How about they pay taxes, for a start?
I get where you are coming from but what needs to change is the tax code, no public company, hell no normal individual, is going to pay more taxes than legally required.
Yes, and for businesses it's additionally a typical arms race/coordination problem. If every company except yours is using a certain legal tactic to pay lower taxes, you're at a competitive disadvantage if you don't use the same tactic. Only law and law enforcement can prevent the inevitable outcome of everyone using it.
Re: Apple commits $430B in US investments over five years
#28Let’s run through the possible reasons Apple announced this, with various degrees of cynicism.
1. Getting some good press before Congress decides to do something in regards to the app store model.
2. Apple is reading the winds, seeing that Chinese supply chains may be politically constrained, and preparing for that future.
3. Apple is reading the winds, seeing that Chinese supply chains may be politically constrained, and announcing this investment so they can continue to have Chinese supply chains after a good PR move.
Re: Apple commits $430B in US investments over five years
#29their use of the word 'campus' is pretty cringeworthy
It's called an office park
Re: Apple commits $430B in US investments over five years
#30Correct me if I'm wrong, but I take it the funding going into all of these office spaces means remote working at Apple is more or less impossible in the future for the vast majority of employees?
I see it the other way. Choose to live anywhere in the US and you get a Hub for your team meetings / office space.