Apple 's Strategies For Global Tax Minimization

Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication devices, and portable digital music and video players and sells a variety of related software, services, peripherals, and networking solutions. The Company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, its retail stores, its direct sales force, and third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. (Source: Company Form 10-K)

However, the companies only have to pay the U.S. tax for foreign revenues once they bring the profits back to the United States. As a result of these current tax laws, U.S. companies that seek to avoid high corporate tax rates hold their foreign earned profits overseas. “It just makes no sense to pay a substantial tax on it,” said Joseph Kennedy, a senior fellow at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (Rubin, R.). It is far too easy for an IT corporation to create a patent in a foreign country and direct revenue to a corporation within that country, thus avoiding the much higher U.S. tax rates. According to Joint Committee on Taxation estimates, the lost revenue is increasing over time as corporations find even more creative ways to make their U.S. profits look like offshore income (Richards, K., & Craig, J.). As result, multinational American corporations have as much as $2 trillion held in overseas subsidiaries and if brought into the United States with the current tax laws, the federal government could benefit by nearly $50 billion per year.

Apple is one of the technology companies in America that have accumulated a large amount of cash reserves, having a $34.7 billion in the bank on June, 2015. This could generate calls for higher corporate tax in the United States, where income inequality has become a major political issue. Apple is heavily dependent on lower cost manufacturing in China. Social and political

Throughout years large American industrial companies have been running away from U.S. taxes, but there has been a new change. Companies such as Apple and Google have been affected by a change foreign countries are going through collecting higher taxes than before. It seems as if no longer can these companies get away with paying low taxes. This is happening because the European Commission have passed an order to collect high taxes. One example is Ireland who was ordered to collect fourteen billion dollars from Apple, which brought a surprise to this company. Companies have run out of places to run and pay one percent or less of taxes in foreign places, instead of paying back home.

The main objective of many companies is to minimize their tax obligations. Jeffers (2014) discussed the reason of why companies adopt tax inversion strategies. The researcher indicated that the income maximization is a major reason of companies attempting to reduce their tax liability (pp. 100-101). Tax inversion strategies provide companies an advantage to lower income tax rate. Today, U.S. corporations renounce its U.S. citizenship and move to low-tax countries. Companies that reincorporate oversees are not obligated to pay U.S. taxes on earning income (p. 99). Many countries implement tax competition strategies to attract and retain businesses. Well-known companies, such as Exxon Mobil, Hewlett Packard, Tyco, General Electric, PepsiCo, etc. take benefits of tax shelter opportunities overseas (p. 102). Other benefits of the jurisdiction abroad are flexible banking laws and simplified litigation processes.

Apple, Inc., an American multinational technology company, which founded on April 1, 1976 in California, United States. The company has earned $53 million of income in 2015, which increase $14 million of income compared with 2014 (Apple Inc., 2015). It has developed from a small personal computer company to a multinational corporation that selling various types of electronic products and software such as, iPad, iPhone, iOS, and others (Apple Inc., 2016).

The low impact on Apple, Inc. of changes in fiscal policy does not end with the technology company's insulation from government spending. It also extends to an insulation

Apple has benefitted significantly from globalization and from technology change. For example, the company started primarily as an American company, but globalization has allowed Apple to become a multinational operation. The company only derives around one-third of sales form the Americas according to the annual report, a figure that includes Canada and all of Latin America in addition to the United States. The company therefore can be said to sell globally. Sales in Asia-Pacific were growing especially fast, and the company has numerous flagship stores in the region.

By doing producing in countries with more relaxed taxes, the companies are keeping more of their profits.

On Tuesday, August 30 the European Union ordered Ireland to collect 14.5 billion in taxes from apple. Europe’s competition enforcer said that apple’s deal with the Irish allowed the company to pay basically nothing on its business. This deal allowed apple to pay only 50 euros for every million euros in profit in 2014. However, Ireland’s corporate tax rate is at 12.5% and is one of the lowest in the developed world. This low tax rate is a huge incentive for companies to cut down on their expenses.

Apple is a large multinational company and is the second largest information technology company. Apple has a revenue of $199.9 billion and a profit of $44.46 billion. Apple’s market capital, meaning the aggregate value of the company based on its current share price and the number of outstanding stocks is $741.8 billion. Apple is a public company meaning you can buy shares into the company, which are traded freely on a stock exchange and is now the largest publically listed company. It was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne on April 1,1976. Apple employs 92,600 people and has 437 stores located in fifteen different countries. An online store is also available in 39 countries to serve on

The world’s leading software and electronics manufacturer “Apple” has revolutionized business operations in America. Apple’s “global ingenuity” (Robbins & Judge, 2013, p. 35) or its ability to use comparative advantages to advance its operations is a game changer. In acknowledging Apple’s global stance, we consider the pros and cons for business decisions that propel the company forward, the expansion of its workforce outside of the United States, and the increase of employee diligence and flexibility at manufacturing facilities internationally.

Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication devices, and portable digital music and video players and sells a variety of related software, services, peripherals, and networking solutions. The Company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, its retail stores, its direct sales force, and third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. (Source: Company Form 10-K)

Apple Inc. was founded in 1977. To date, this company has continually offered a wide range of products to meet the growing demands of customers all over the world. Apple not only produces and sells computer software and cellphones; they also distribute consumer electronic products around the globe. Increasing the value of shareholder and coming up with new inventive products is a constant process for Apple, and Apple continues to do so with their popularity around the world with about 301 store locations in 10 different countries. Aside from all of

One of the main reasons for Apple’s success and ginormous revenue gains is Apple’s vertical integration,brand reputation, marketing and advertising capabilities and strong distribution channels in the United States and abroad.