Apple CEO Tim Cook has just started his testimony in front of the Senate Sub-Committee Hearing to Examine Offshore Profit Shifting and Tax Avoidance by Apple Inc. in Washington, D.C.
“I am proud to represent Apple here. With Apple’s international revenues twice as large as domestic revenues, we are often asked ‘Does Apple still consider itself an American company? To that, I answer an emphatic yes. We are proud to be an
American company.”
Tim Cook is using most of his early testimony to remind the Senate how much Apple has done for America. Cook points out that Apple has created jobs for over 600,000, between employees, the App Economy, and so on. And they’re doing more, committing $100 million to building future products in America.
Tim Cook is also reminding the Sub-Committee that Apple is the largest corporate tax payer in America. He’s reiterating that Apple says they don’t use tax gimmicks, don’t keep it on a Carribbean island, and so on. “We pay every dollar of tax we owe, and we obey both the spirit and the letter of the tax law.”
So why does Apple have so much money overseas? Tim Cook says it’s based upon the explosive growth of Apple’s overseas business.
“The tax code has not kept up with the digital age,” says Tim Cook, saying that part of the problem is the existing tax code law.
“Apple has always believed in the simple, not the complex. It is in this spirit that we recommend a dramatic revision of the existing tax code system. And we make this recommendation with our eyes wide open, and knowing that it will increase Apple’s U.S. tax rates.”
