How much has Apple paid in taxes as a percentage of revenue (or even profit) over the past 5 years? While the tax system may look progressive at a very superfic

How much has Apple paid in taxes as a percentage of revenue (or even profit) over the past 5 years? While the tax system may look progressive at a very superficial level, the richest people or corporations tend not to pay as much in taxes as the middle class does. Even beyond the specifics of the law, the sheer complexity of the law means that only those whose earnings is high enough to justify the cost of a good tax accountant or tax lawyer can get a good rate. Regulatory complexities in general are also a burden on smaller companies and sole proprietors. Ted Turner described his experience building CNN as one where he was climbing a ladder and seeing the rungs he had just climbed knocked away. Outsiders now simply don't have the ability to handle the regulatory costs of creating the next CNN unless they're already extraordinarily wealthy. Finally, our banking system is a model of rent-seeking. There are fees charged for doing just about anything with money (borrowing it, lending it, exchanging it for another currency, etc), many of the fees are invisible and once again they are extremely difficult to avoid. Example: how much of the money from YouTube's acquisition went to the financiers? How much do banks make when a tech company IPOs?