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Web of Tax Shelters Saved Apple Billions, Inquiry Finds
mspohr writes with news that Apple might be in a bit of hot water over its policy of offshoring revenues to favorable tax jurisdictions. Only they take it a step further, from the article: "Apple relied on a 'complex web of offshore entities' and U.S. tax loopholes to avoid paying billions of dollars in U.S. taxes on $44 billion in offshore income over the past four years ... The maker of iPhones and iPads used at least three foreign subsidiaries that it claims are not 'tax resident in any nation' to help it avoid paying billions in 'otherwise taxable offshore income,' the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said in a statement yesterday."
Corporations aren't people with morals, etc. And unless you voluntarily pay taxes you don't legally need to, you are a hyprocrite.
I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
I don't like Apple, and Steve Jobs was a dick. But... I applaud Apple for not paying into our tax system. What our government does with the money it collects is immoral and often unconstitutional. If Apple had paid their taxes the feds would have likely just used the money to build another domestic spy agency. Fuck the IRS, fuck the government, thank you Apple, even though I'm sure your primary goal was greed, at least your money will get re-invested in some new apple toy and not used to send hellfire missiles into funerals around the world.
Somalia is a great example of libertarianism, minarchism, etc. in action.