I am on Apple side, the panel is looking for a scapegoat IMO...
‘Apple is exploiting an absurdity’
WASHINGTON — Apple’s CEO is disputing assertions by a United States Senate panel that the company avoids billions of dollars in US taxes by shifting profits to foreign affiliates.
Mr Tim Cook testified at a hearing yesterday (May 21) by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which released a report on Monday attacking Apple’s tax practices.
“We pay all the taxes we owe — every single dollar,” Mr Cook said. “We don’t depend on tax gimmicks.”
Mr Cook, who is more accustomed to commanding a stage in front of investors and techies than facing a congressional committee, took a defensive tone with his opening statement.
He punched out words when stressing the 600,000 jobs that the company supports while adding that Apple is the nation’s largest corporate taxpayer. Mr Cook advocated an overhaul of the US tax code.
http://www.todayonline.com/business/appl...-absurdity
Agree that the US tax code is a bit uncompetitive. Imagine instead of the usual 30-35% tax on overseas money and they reduce it to match Singapore's 17%. I am sure not just Apple but Microsoft, JnJ etc will move their money back into US. Not only will this act like a QE for US, the US fed govt will be getting a one-off tax revenue of 17% of the overseas corporate money.
(22-05-2013, 09:57 AM)CY09 Wrote: [ -> ]Agree that the US tax code is a bit uncompetitive. Imagine instead of the usual 30-35% tax on overseas money and they reduce it to match Singapore's 17%. I am sure not just Apple but Microsoft, JnJ etc will move their money back into US. Not only will this act like a QE for US, the US fed govt will be getting a one-off tax revenue of 17% of the overseas corporate money.
Well, the US gov may be getting additional tax revenue from those companies have substantial oversea business, but it will be losing tax revenue of those local corporate due to lower tax rate
The net might still be losing, even under best scenario...
(22-05-2013, 09:57 AM)CY09 Wrote: [ -> ]Agree that the US tax code is a bit uncompetitive. Imagine instead of the usual 30-35% tax on overseas money and they reduce it to match Singapore's 17%. I am sure not just Apple but Microsoft, JnJ etc will move their money back into US. Not only will this act like a QE for US, the US fed govt will be getting a one-off tax revenue of 17% of the overseas corporate money.
then it would be a punishment for law abiding corps and a reward to those "unlawful" acts.
plus, US does not want all those profit back to US. It essentially means that all the money FED prints will go back to US and cause serious inflation in US.
Tim Cook is under pressure to perform, judged by Jobs's yardstick...
Apple CEO Tim Cook promises more ‘game changers’
SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook defended the company’s record of innovation under his stewardship, saying he expected it would release “several more game changers” and hinting that wearable computers could be among them.
“It’s an area where it’s ripe for exploration,” Mr Cook said yesterday (May 28) at the All Things Digital conference, an annual gathering of technology and media executives in the California coastal resort town of Rancho Palos Verdes.
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/apple-ce...e-changers
The downside of rising yen... although it helps on export trades...
Apple joins other foreign brands in raising prices in Japan
OKYO - Apple raised prices of iPads and iPods in Japan yesterday, becoming the highest-profile brand to join a growing list of foreign firms asking Japanese consumers to pay more as a weakening yen squeezes profit.
Some United States companies have inoculated themselves at least temporarily against the yen’s fall through financial hedging instruments, while others are charging customers more.
http://www.todayonline.com/business/appl...ices-japan
Endless law suits...Apple vs Samsung ended... soon Apple vs US authorities will start...
US takes Apple to trial over e-books price-fixing
NEW YORK — Apple goes to trial tomorrow (June 3) over allegations by United States federal and state authorities that it conspired with publishers to raise the price of e-books.
The trial pits the maker of the popular iPad and iPhone against the US Justice Department in a case that tests how Internet retailers interact with content providers.
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/us-takes...ice-fixing
Another bad news for Apple...
The ban is on older models of iPhone and iPad, but the impact should be still significant...
Some Apple iPhone, iPad models banned in the US
WASHINGTON — Apple infringed a patent owned by South Korea’s Samsung Electronics in making several iPhone and iPad models, the US International Trade Commission said in a final decision issued yesterday (June 4).
The panel issued a limited import ban and a cease-and-desist order for AT&T models of the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G. The versions targeted are more than a year old but still solid sellers.
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/some-app...-banned-us
A threat to iPad mini... I am also looking on the product, tempting to own one...
Samsung’s Note 8.0 is a note-worthy Android tablet
SINGAPORE - The Galaxy Note 8.0 is Samsung’s latest small form-factor tablet to hit the market, and probably the Korean giant’s finest representative to enter into direct competition with the iPad mini and Google Nexus 7.
The mobile device feels like a Frankenstein Android device, mixing elements of both smartphones and tablets to become a good-looking tablet that performs impressively.
Design-wise, the bezels are generous without being too big: Samsung has found the perfect balance between bezels that are big enough to handle the tablet without triggering an on-screen accident, and not-so-big that it wastes space. Unlike the Note 10.1 tablet, the Note 8 has a home button and runs the smartphone user interface for Android — meaning that you do not get the tablet layout with a notifications bar along the bottom.
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/gadgets/...oid-tablet
(05-06-2013, 09:00 AM)CityFarmer Wrote: [ -> ]Another bad news for Apple...
The ban is on older models of iPhone and iPad, but the impact should be still significant...
Some Apple iPhone, iPad models banned in the US
WASHINGTON — Apple infringed a patent owned by South Korea’s Samsung Electronics in making several iPhone and iPad models, the US International Trade Commission said in a final decision issued yesterday (June 4).
The panel issued a limited import ban and a cease-and-desist order for AT&T models of the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G. The versions targeted are more than a year old but still solid sellers.
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/some-app...-banned-us
IMO, a smart move to phase-out older models, without affecting market share.
Apple to begin iPhone trade-ins this month: Report
SAN FRANCISCO - Apple will start a programme this month to allow users to trade their older iPhones for the newest model, Bloomberg cited people familiar with the plan as saying, a first for the company as it prepares to introduce a new version of the smartphone.
It has teamed up with Brightstar, a mobile phone distributor that runs similar trade-in programmes for American carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile, to handle exchanges, Bloomberg cited the unidentified sources as saying yesterday (June 6).
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/apple-be...nth-report