Correct - apologies for not being clear... if I own a business and receive a dividend, I pay taxes. So that same income was taxed first at the corporate level a

Correct - apologies for not being clear... if I own a business and receive a dividend, I pay taxes. So that same income was taxed first at the corporate level and second at the personal level. THe evasion - which I consider to be a stretch here - is that by not paying a dividend it becomes trapped in retained earnings and the government doesn't receive its second piece. I'm not saying I agree with the view here but the point is technically correct. A $100 of profit for Apple in the us is taxed 40% at corporate level to become $60 and by the time it gets to me it is worth 32