Mikey Campbell
After Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook and chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer appeared before the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to explain the tech giant's offshore tax practices, the company has made available the opening statements as read in testimony.
The short documents, released just hours after the Senate hearing, sum up Apple's main arguments as presented to the subcommittee on Tuesday.
Central to the hearing was Apple's tax practices, which Cook defended by saying, "We pay all of the taxes we owe — every single dollar. We not only comply with the laws, but we comply with the spirit of the laws."
At issue are so-called "ghost" corporations Apple set up in Ireland to avoid U.S. corporate taxes, the most well known being Apple Operations International in Cork. The company's subsidiaries are cost sharing arrangements, which Apple said help fund research and development, as well as the creation of new jobs in America.
Cook's opening statement in full:
Oppenheimer's statement:
Tuesday's hearing is part of the Senate's investigation into loopholes large multinational corporations exploit to avoid paying high U.S. taxes. Previously, Microsoft and Hewlett Packard's tax practices went under the microscope, though Apple's recent hearing garnered the most media attention as Cook himself chose to visit Washington to explain his company's actions.
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88 Comments
How about posts including McCain and Levin? Now there's some entertaining insanity.
http://www.thestreet.com/story/11930151/1/tim-cook-should-tell-congress-to-kiss-his-ass.html
I agree.
Just don't tax it that way.
Sent from my iPhone
[quote name="Slurpy" url="/t/157633/apple-publishes-execs-opening-statements-from-us-senate-testimony#post_2330886"][URL=http://www.thestreet.com/story/11930151/1/tim-cook-should-tell-congress-to-kiss-his-ass.html]http://www.thestreet.com/story/11930151/1/tim-cook-should-tell-congress-to-kiss-his-ass.html[/URL] I agree. [/quote] Rand Paul got it right: [quote]"I'm offended by the spectacle of dragging in Apple executives," said Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican. "What we need to do is apologize to Apple and compliment them for the job creation they're doing." Instead of "bullying" Apple executives, Mr. Paul said, "we should have brought in a giant mirror to look at the reflection of Congress. If you want to assign blame, look in the mirror and see who created this mess. "Apple hasn't broken any laws, yet Apple is forced to sit through a show trial," he said.[/quote] Cook should simply say: "If we've broken the law, tell us what we did wrong and we'll fix it and pay any taxes and penalties due. If we didn't break the law, then get off our backs. If you don't like the flipping tax code, fix it instead of going on witch hunts against law-abiding companies." Then "Any other questions before I go back to California and do my job?"
Cook should simply say:
"If we've broken the law, tell us what we did wrong and we'll fix it and pay any taxes and penalties due. If we didn't break the law, then get off our backs. If you don't like the flipping tax code, fix it instead of going on witch hunts against law-abiding companies." Then "Any other questions before I go back to California and do my job?"
I so wish he could and would have. The problem is, these guys are a bunch of fucking mafia goons. They would have gone after him and Apple.