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Okay, so Cook is implying here that Apple's maneuvers are not only restricted by rule of law, but by some underlying ethical principles. This model is bolstered

Okay, so Cook is implying here that Apple's maneuvers are not only restricted by rule of law, but by some underlying ethical principles. This model is bolstered by similar pronouncements he's made on privacy. Apple is a company that benefits enormously from the intellectual and physical infrastructure of the United States. From this, many onlookers derive the ethical principle that Apple should pay its "fair share of tax". So Cook's Apple must also have a meta-ethics that somehow judges this is not an important ethical principle. Part of me wonders if this meta-ethics involves a cost-benefit analysis. And wonders when the rubber hits the road whether Apple's ethical principles actually go beyond the default corporate ethics of maximizing shareholder value within the rule of law. On the other hand, anyone saying bad things about PACs, and good things about privacy, is fine and dandy with me. Which means this ad must be made for people like me.

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simonh 7y ago
On what basis do you decide that Apple doesn't pay it's 'fair share'? On the face of it they seem to pay a fair bit. They are the largest single tax payer in the world, with a global effective tax rate of 24.6%. I'm sure there are some ways they minimise their tax bills, but it's not as though they don't pay tax or even pay very little tax overall.
- keiferski 7y ago
  Apple spent years keeping over a hundred billion offshore in order to avoid paying taxes.
  - simonh 7y ago
    Apple paid taxes on all of those funds, in the jurisdictions in which the money was earned just like any other company. The US is the only country I'm aware of that charges tax on income earned abroad. The US system is ludicrous. A few years ago a British politician, who has never resided long term in the US but who's mother was a US citizen, renounced his dual US nationality because the US tried to tax him on his sale of his house here in the UK.
    - netsharc 7y ago
      > Apple paid taxes on all of those funds, in the jurisdictions in which the money was earned just like any other company. Snort! https://www.cultofmac.com/302651/apple-avoids-paying-taxes-itunes-revenue/ https://www.cultofmac.com/302651/apple-avoids-paying-taxes-i... , no they pay taxes in Luxembourg and say they have little profit in other European countries. But can we blame them, I would also try to optimize my taxes, and even the guy who set up this tax scheme to benefit Luxembourg is now... the president of the European Commission: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg_Leaks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg_Leaks
      - simonh 7y ago
        From the article you linked: >Here’s how Apple avoids paying nearly all taxes in Europe: That's blatant click-bait. It actually only applies to iTunes revenue which is a sliver of Apple's overall tax bill, most of which is paid on physical products taxed like any other manufacturer. The basic fact is Apple pays a huge tranche of taxes to governments all over the world, more than any other single tax payer. Picking at little threads round the edges of their tax practices doesn't change that fact.
        netsharc 7y ago
        > The basic fact is Apple pays a huge tranche of taxes to governments all over the world, more than any other single tax payer. Source please? And more than any single tax payer where? Are you claiming Apple is the largest tax payer in every tax regime of the world? > Picking at little threads round the edges of their tax practices doesn't change that fact. OK Mr. Fanboy, nice work diminishing a tax avoidance as "picking at little threads". Sorry I insulted your idol. Getting fined by the EC doesn't make it sound like what they did were legal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EU_illegal_State_aid_case_against_Apple_in_Ireland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EU_illegal_State_aid_case_agai... . Of course, if the government says it's legal it might as well be legal, it doesn't mean it's morally correct, no wonder the populists hate the technocratic governments who are in bed with the corporations. I guess in your books "they paid enough" is good enough to make them the good guys.
jonathanstrange 7y ago
FYI, the article is about political donations by companies and political action committees (PACs), not about taxes.

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simonh 7y ago

On what basis do you decide that Apple doesn't pay it's 'fair share'? On the face of it they seem to pay a fair bit. They are the largest single tax payer in the world, with a global effective tax rate of 24.6%. I'm sure there are some ways they minimise their tax bills, but it's not as though they don't pay tax or even pay very little tax overall.

keiferski 7y ago
Apple spent years keeping over a hundred billion offshore in order to avoid paying taxes.
- simonh 7y ago
  Apple paid taxes on all of those funds, in the jurisdictions in which the money was earned just like any other company. The US is the only country I'm aware of that charges tax on income earned abroad. The US system is ludicrous. A few years ago a British politician, who has never resided long term in the US but who's mother was a US citizen, renounced his dual US nationality because the US tried to tax him on his sale of his house here in the UK.
  - netsharc 7y ago
    > Apple paid taxes on all of those funds, in the jurisdictions in which the money was earned just like any other company. Snort! https://www.cultofmac.com/302651/apple-avoids-paying-taxes-itunes-revenue/ https://www.cultofmac.com/302651/apple-avoids-paying-taxes-i... , no they pay taxes in Luxembourg and say they have little profit in other European countries. But can we blame them, I would also try to optimize my taxes, and even the guy who set up this tax scheme to benefit Luxembourg is now... the president of the European Commission: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg_Leaks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg_Leaks
    - simonh 7y ago
      From the article you linked: >Here’s how Apple avoids paying nearly all taxes in Europe: That's blatant click-bait. It actually only applies to iTunes revenue which is a sliver of Apple's overall tax bill, most of which is paid on physical products taxed like any other manufacturer. The basic fact is Apple pays a huge tranche of taxes to governments all over the world, more than any other single tax payer. Picking at little threads round the edges of their tax practices doesn't change that fact.
      - netsharc 7y ago
        > The basic fact is Apple pays a huge tranche of taxes to governments all over the world, more than any other single tax payer. Source please? And more than any single tax payer where? Are you claiming Apple is the largest tax payer in every tax regime of the world? > Picking at little threads round the edges of their tax practices doesn't change that fact. OK Mr. Fanboy, nice work diminishing a tax avoidance as "picking at little threads". Sorry I insulted your idol. Getting fined by the EC doesn't make it sound like what they did were legal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EU_illegal_State_aid_case_against_Apple_in_Ireland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EU_illegal_State_aid_case_agai... . Of course, if the government says it's legal it might as well be legal, it doesn't mean it's morally correct, no wonder the populists hate the technocratic governments who are in bed with the corporations. I guess in your books "they paid enough" is good enough to make them the good guys.

jonathanstrange 7y ago

FYI, the article is about political donations by companies and political action committees (PACs), not about taxes.