According to latest news report, Apple CEO “Tim Cook” has lashed out at politicians who claim the company is avoiding tax in the U.S., slamming the accusations as “political crap.” In an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Cook said the company keeps its overseas revenue outside of the U.S. because the country’s “industrial age” code would force Apple to pay 40 percent tax to bring that revenue home. International Business Times said
Apple saves billions of dollars in taxes through auxiliaries in Ireland, where it declares much of its overseas profit.
Critics have long targeted Apple for its revenue practices. An October report from Citizens for Tax Justice revealed Apple keeps more of its profits offshore than Google and Microsoft combined. Apple holds $181.1 billion in taxable income overseas, by far the highest amount any U.S. company holds outside the country.
“Apple pays every tax dollar we owe,” Cook told 60 Minutes’ Charlie Rose, according to excerpts from the interview released on Friday. Cook said bringing profits back to the United States would cost him 40%. “I don’t think that’s a reasonable thing to do,” he said.
The current tax code was made for the industrial age, and not the “digital age,” Cook said. “It’s backwards. It’s awful for America. It should have been fixed many years ago.“
Cook said that two-thirds of the company’s revenue comes from foreign countries and the company keeps that money in its foreign auxiliaries. He attacked members of Congress who suggested the practice is part of a scheme to avoid paying tax. “That is total political crap. There is no truth behind it. Apple pays every tax dollar we owe,” he said. “We pay more taxes in this country than anyone.”
Rebecca Lester, assistant professor of accounting at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, thought Cook’s colorful language might reflect frustration about the lack of movement on tax reform in Washington. Theguardian added
“Companies and the government are in a game of chicken, waiting to see which one moves first,” she said. But so far, corporations are unwilling to bring overseas money back because of the tax implications and want Washington to act.
It’s not the first time Cook has criticized the tax code. In a May 2013 Senate hearing, Cook said that he would like to bring Apple’s revenue back to the U.S., but the high corporation tax means it would not be worth it. International Business Times Report
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) declined -2.71% and closed at $106.03.