Recent Comments
Greta comments as always, wab95. Thanks. I imagine that Sony will cave and accept the deal the other labels took. This is predicated on my belief that Apple will be willing to launch without Sony. Apple and Sony Music need each other to make this work, but Sony Music has a little more need than Apple.
daemon, technically a person could incorporate and accept work both outside and inside the U.S. and do exactly what Apple, Microsoft, Google, the oil companies, etc. do. It's a silly comparison on my part, of course. There's only so much one person can do. I am also in your camp about companies having responsibilities, both in a legal and ethical sense. But what you're talking is reshaping all corporate law. That's a worthy topic of conversation (IMO), but it's separate from whether or not Apple (et al) is evading taxes. They simply aren't. I imagine that Apple—perhaps more than any…
Brad, you know that mentioning facts is not rude. Saying that people who disagree with you don't understand policy and can't do math is. There's no need. As for offshore shell games, I think that there will continue to be every incentive on the planet for any and every company to play them. Again, it's a separate issue from the U.S. corporate tax rate. At least the U.S. corporate tax rate is a policy issue that can more or less be solved. As long as individual countries can pass their own laws, international tax avoidance will continue around the world.…
While I disagree with you on the good guy/bad guy arguments, Brad, I agree that the tax rate will either be lowered or another tax holiday will eventually be declared. Probably sooner, rather than later. I look forward with great interest to see what Tim Cook proposes. Apple may have the clout to spark some momentum for change. The current system is clearly flawed, irrespective of one's political leanings and philosophy on the nature of governance.
daemon, perhaps this will help. As noted above, U.S. multinationals are not required to repatriate their foreign profits. When and if they do so, they must pay taxes on it. Until then, no taxes are owed. You can't evade what you don't owe, and thus no laws are being broken. Indeed, they are being followed to the letter. Brad, I disagree with you about the attorneys and accountants being put out of work by scrapping the corporate income tax. The shell game being played outside the U.S. will continue to be played. That's a separate issue from keeping the money…
It's a night and day difference. At issue is the practice of keeping profits offshore because the current law says that income tax is owed on those profits when it is repatriated to the U.S. Avoid the repatriation and avoid the taxes, but the taxes are still due when and if the money is repatriated. Apple (and the other companies that do this) hasn't evaded anything, they've merely put off the day when they must pay.
daemon, in what way are Apple's executives and board members (and all of the other company execs and boards that do the things Apple does) breaking the law? You may be confused about the differences between tax evasion and tax avoidance.
It's definitely a big, big download.
Most welcome, nealg. 
Hey Brad, I was marginalizing Senator Paul's anti-government tirade as Tea Party-centric. Just FYI.