Letters: Apple’s taxes

Re “Apple execs grilled over tax strategy,” Business, May 22

Unbelievable, stunning, incredible that members of Congress have the audacity to bring the chief executive of one of the most successful companies this country has ever seen to grill him on Apple Inc.’s tax strategy (which, by the way, is perfectly legal) so they can try to wring more money out of him. Apple paid $6 billion in taxes last year; isn’t that enough?

Forcing Chief Executive Tim Cook to respond to legislators who have been on the public dole much of their lives and haven’t done much in the way of intellectual innovation (or even fixing this country economically) is an embarrassment. These same legislators can’t even balance a budget.

How arrogant for them to think they have the credibility to grill Apple’s executives.

Marlene K. Mariani

Encinitas

Sorry, Mr. Cook, but Apple’s moral compass seems off.

What “lofty ideals” allow a company to accrue $145 billion in cash by producing its product in exploitative working conditions overseas? What lofty ideals come to mind when you see millions of American workers unemployed while you sit on billions that could be invested in research and development and the employment of those Americans? What lofty ideals say it’s OK to evade taxes on $30 billion stashed in Ireland?

Did you totally lose sight of Americans who, because of inadequate tax revenue, go without adequate healthcare, have their Social Security threatened and suffer because of decaying infrastructure? Or did you simply lose that moral compass?

Lloyd A. Dent

Northridge

I don’t know whether it’s funny or hypocritical for politicians to grill Apple executives on business ethics. After all, these are the people who, for years, have regularly taken bribes disguised as campaign contributions and generally enriched themselves at the public trough, all with impunity.

The politicians should be embarrassed — but to be embarrassed, one first has to have a conscience.

Joe Martin

Long Beach

By itself, lowering tax rates on corporate income would probably have little effect on decisions by companies such as Apple to stash profits in foreign countries.

As Apple’s tax-free subsidiary in Ireland has demonstrated, companies will always seek the lowest tax rate. And if the U.S. lowers its rates, other countries will do likewise to lure companies.

Similarly, states and cities compete against one another by lowering taxes or giving breaks to woo businesses. The result is a race to the bottom, as companies increasingly benefit at the expense of society.

Darrel Miller

Santa Monica

Cook says no “gimmicks” were used in sheltering profits in dummy companies in Ireland. I wonder if he knows what a shell game is, or money laundering or racketeering?

Cook is another prevaricator and denier of reality, while the rest of us pay the taxes his company should have been paying.

Bill D. Holder

Cypress

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