My Problem with Apple
The United States tax system is based entirely on taxes the movement of money from one entity to another. When you get paid, when you buy something, when you give a gift, when you inherit something, when you sell something, etc. are all opportunities for the United States to collect tax revenue for our budget. It’s a great idea as long as there is circulation of cash.
Therein lies a giant problem. Major multinational countries don’t spend their cash. In the last week, it’s been discussed how Apple has $97.6 billion in cash. $64 billion of it is being held overseas. Apple along with other tech companies like Cisco, Google, Microsoft, etc. have no incentive to reinvest their overseas cash back into the United States at a 35% tax rate.
These are originally American companies who grew off the backs of American workers and American consumers who are holding up the circulation of money in this country. President Obama justified the following bills by claiming that cash flowing through the economy would help the country recover: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (stimulus bill), Car Allowance Rebate System (Cash for Clunkers), and Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (Obama-GOP tax cuts).
Yet, our biggest corporations are holding hundreds of billions of dollars away from the market. They are the very same companies capable of employing millions of educated and technically skilled Americans, but they’re limiting the amount of business they do as they build their cash reserves. Say what you will about oil and gas companies, but Exxon has been paying out dividends to their stockholders unlike Apple who hasn’t since the mid 90’s.
Because corporations have a vast amount of stable of assets, they can afford to spend a smaller percentage of their net worth to survive than an average American. When money is in the hands of individuals, it is not only far more likely to move but it HAS to move for that individual to survive.
In the meantime, Americans continue to worship at the throne of major tech companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, etc. while they try to convince the American government to have put in a place a tax holiday so that they can bypass paying taxes that would help the American people. What do you hipster bandwagon posing douchebags have to say now?
