What you are paying for when you buy an i-product

Apple has stated that it will not bring home $60 Billion in foreign profits unless it gets a tax holiday on the money. Of course, they really don’t say what they will do with the money if they bring it home. How much do you want to bet that they’ll put it in their pockets or invest it Wall Street scams rather. After all, if the money isn’t taxed, why should it matter to me or you if they bring it home?

This is a poor form of blackmail. “Let me keep 95% of the money or I’ll keep 100% of the money!” Not exactly a bargin. But blackmail it is, and we as consumers should be disgusted at the arrogance.

This is especially true when one considers the benefits that Apple derives from the American market at the expense of virtual slave labor at Apple off-shore factories. Government trade policies make it cost effective for Apple to produce its products in China and other areas and ship them to American consumers who are willing to overpay for the latest in technology.

Even at that, Apple only pays about 13% effective tax rate on its income. How much do you pay? Also, Apple only pays taxes on about 14% of its profits, claiming that 86% of their income is derived from foreign sales. Actually, Apple off-shores its profits to foreign subsidiaries.

Is Apple really trying to make a political point about how hard it is to be among the mega-rich, taxed so much that instead of having a spare 90 foot mega-yacht at the winter home in Florida they must go through the drudgery of moving the family mega-yacht from the summer home in Maine. Oh, the humanity! Those damn teachers with their pension funds!

Think about that the next time you pay your iPhone bill!