Tim Cook testifies to U.S. Senate subcommittee

[philw]

back a whlie a go  Apple was put before the U.S. Senate subcommittee re how they work

interesting they focussed on them and not other companies like Google, Pfizer, and many other ones that do the same thing


was good to see Tim give the middle-finger to congress, and good for him.

The U.S. government is crying because Apple refuses to give them billions of dollars for free, in addition to the taxes they owe. 
Apple are just working in the mess that .gov created with the corporate tax system you have there.

The other thing Apple should say, besides the $6B they pay in corporate taxes, they should also state how much employee withholding they pay the government for salary plus stock option payouts. They also point out how much they collect for SS and pay to the government.

Not only do that pay corporate taxes but all the highly paid employee they employ in the US also pay taxes. This is the part the government never factors in, as long as companies pay their people well the government get more money since individual have far less loop hole.

I wish Tim Cook would have simply said that Apple pays all taxes it owes and if they (politicians) have a problem with that they should get off their fat worthless asses and change the tax code. Then, he would just stand up and walk out of the room.

[twyacht]

A few Conservative members like Rand Paul, reminded the committee, NOT ONE law was broken, For a history lesson, GE not only paid less than Apple, but paid NO Federal taxes 2010-2011. Also, this was a dog and pony show...

But the CEO of GE, Jeffrey Immelt, was on the Annointed One's Jobs Committee, which met once in 18 months, and said "Shovel Ready Wasn't As Shovel Ready As We Thought".   and GM, aka Gov't Motors,  bragged about Cadillac's being built in China,...

When candidate Mitt Romney brought this FACT up before the election, the MSM scoffed and dismissed it. Guess what, Cadillac's are going to be made in China,.....OBTW,, ask One Hung Lo who bought Hummer....

The Apple "hearing" was a farce, a sham, and a big reminder of WTF is wrong with the politicians in this country.

[tombogan03884]

You miss the real point .
And you got f*cked again .
The purpose was to put pressure on Switzerland , and it worked.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100772607

"The Swiss government said on Wednesday that it would let its banks sidestep the country's secrecy laws to disclose names of clients in a move intended to help resolve a long-running dispute with the United States over tax evasion. "

[Solus]

Well, damn.  Now I'll have to move all my Swiss accounts   

[twyacht]

They have been, they as in International money hungry socialists including the current US Admin, to get access to those accounts. Same in the Cayman's, Bahamas, Belize, (remember Cyprus?),

Funny though, being in the mega-yacht/uber rich folk industry, the uber rich have so many other resources than just Switzerland and the others, With a little "contribution to the kitty" MILLIONS upon MILLIONS can just be laundered about be switched electronically, sent from Hong Kong to Istanbul and back and have a balance "living in cyberspace"....\

For a perspective:

Just had the owner of the yacht I'm finishing up, spend $5500 on orchids... Just for some guests coming aboard for a week or so.
$12,000 on wine/booze/food.  and over $31,000 for 9,980 gallons of diesel fuel...Plus an 8 person live aboard crew, chef and Capt. And so on,....

For a week in the Bahamas!

Of course the socialist money hungry bastards want access. Just wait your 401k/IRA is next.

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

They have been, they as in International money hungry socialists including the current US Admin, to get access to those accounts. Same in the Cayman's, Bahamas, Belize, (remember Cyprus?),

Funny though, being in the mega-yacht/uber rich folk industry, the uber rich have so many other resources than just Switzerland and the others, With a little "contribution to the kitty" MILLIONS upon MILLIONS can just be laundered about be switched electronically, sent from Hong Kong to Istanbul and back and have a balance "living in cyberspace"....\

For a perspective:

Just had the owner of the yacht I'm finishing up, spend $5500 on orchids... Just for some guests coming aboard for a week or so.
$12,000 on wine/booze/food.  and over $31,000 for 9,980 gallons of diesel fuel...Plus an 8 person live aboard crew, chef and Capt. And so on,....

For a week in the Bahamas!

Of course the socialist money hungry bastards want access. Just wait your 401k/IRA is next.

That idea was already floated when Obama first took office .
Apparently the answer was ,"if you do that even the idea of President Joe Biden will not keep you alive."
This is why gold under the mattress is so popular in Asia .
There is a network, (probably many ) I forget what it is called, that follows the methods of the earliest "banks".
Let's say you are going to Hong Kong, you go to "Hop Sing", your nearest  local contact and give him $50,000 in cash or gold, he then e mails his cousins husband, One Hung Lo , in Hong Kong and says this guy can draw up to X amount ( $50 K minus handling fee) and you are good to go with no pesky currency regulations, taxes, or paper trail while they later saettle up between themselves and you can get back any unused funds on your return.
This method is used by terrorists, organized crime, intelligence agencies, and a huge portion of the general Asian population.

[Magoo541]

You have all missed the most obvious point: FOLLOW THE MONEY!

What money?  EXACTLY

Apple doesn't have a lobbying firm that could hire retired congressmen/women, senators or their staff.  This was a good ole' fashioned shake down.

Just ask Microsoft how this works, if you recall they went through the same thing a few years back.

[tombogan03884]

You have all missed the most obvious point: FOLLOW THE MONEY!

What money?  EXACTLY

Apple doesn't have a lobbying firm that could hire retired congressmen/women, senators or their staff.  This was a good ole' fashioned shake down.

Just ask Microsoft how this works, if you recall they went through the same thing a few years back.

The old "slip and fall" scam .
Every one knows it's BS, but it is cheaper and far less hassle to just pay up than to go to court with the deck stacked against you.

[fatbaldguy]

The old "slip and fall" scam .
Every one knows it's BS, but it is cheaper and far less hassle to just pay up than to go to court with the deck stacked against you.

Too true.  I, on the other hand, would like to see Apple say;  Go ahead.  Then when the goobermint takes 'em to court.  Move out of the good Ol' USA, and give 'em a big ol' single finger salute as they leave.