Today, a United States Senate subcommittee released a report about its findings of investigations over large companies and corporate taxes. The subcommittee is claiming that Apple has avoided paying billions of dollars in taxes by using off-shore accounts.
The investigation that was conducted was lengthy, and has become even more important with Apple’s recent success and word of Apple’s large surplus of cash. A majority of Apple’s surplus is stored in off-shore accounts, where it is not subject to the 35% corporate rate in the United States. Below is an excerpt of the report from the Senate.
Today, Apple Inc. maintains more than $102 billion in offshore cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities (cash). Apple executives told the Subcommittee that the company has no intention of returning those funds to the United States unless and until there is a more favorable environment, emphasizing a lower corporate tax rate and a simplified tax code.
This all comes the day before Apple plans to testify in front of the subcommittee and suggest changes to the US corporate tax system. The testimony, found here, details Apple’s tax payments and also includes the company’s suggestions on how the tax system should be changed.
It is also worth noting that the same subcommittee has also investigated other tech giants such as computer manufacturer HP and Microsoft.
What do you think about this finding? Do you believe that Apple did something wrong by using off-shore accounts, or do you agree with the company that the tax system needs to change?
