Mass Protests Outside Of Apple Stores Planned Next Week

This photogenic gang might be waiting for you outside your local Apple Store on June 4th.

Prepare to get buckets of blood splattered all over your new white iPhone as you exit the Apple Store next week. A group that feels that Apple tries to weasel its way out of too many taxes will be protesting Apple’s retail locations around the country.

The group is called US Uncut, an organization that tries to stop corporations and companies from avoiding US taxes, and they are protesting Apple’s participation in the Win America Campaign, in which Apple and other companies are trying to get one-time tax breaks on profit that they are currently holding overseas.

“Apple plays huge games with their taxes. By disguising profits in the U.S. as foreign earnings in low-tax countries, Apple dodges billions of dollars of taxes they should be paying,” US Uncut said in a statement.

Other targets of US Uncut include Bank of America, Verizon, FedEx, GE, and BP, although for publicity reasons, they seem to be targeting Apple for their most public protesting.

This is sort of a complicated issue. The bottom line is that if Apple doesn’t get this one-time tax break, they’ll just continue to keep their money overseas, where the tax laws are more forgiving. While the principle of that tax break might suck, and could be a slippery slope, the actuality is that if Apple can’t bring that money in-country, it can’t spend that money in-country… which may or may not have a marked positive effect on our economies.

What do you think? Sympathize with US Uncut, or think they’re a bunch of buttinski bozos?

• Via CNet

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