Apple is by far Cupertino’s biggest and most recognizable employer, but the city’s new mayor has accused the tech giant of not pulling its weight when it comes to taxes.
Mayor Barry Chang, who’s only been on the job since December, is wasting no time in pursuit of his mission to get Apple to pay more taxes. He’s slated the local council for apparently cozying up to Apple, and even gotten himself booted out of Apple’s HQ on one occasion after turning up uninvited.
Chang previously proposed getting Apple to donate $100 million to improve the city’s infrastructure, only for the plan to be shot down by the council. “Apple is such a big company here,” he said. “The council members don’t want to offend them. Apple talks to them, and they won’t vote against Apple. This is the fact.”
Apple paid $1.9 million in tax revenue to Cupertino in 2012 to 2013, accounting for about 18 percent of the city’s general fund budget. However, Chang’s plans to get businesses with more than 100 employees to pay an extra $1,000 per person don’t seem to be winning him too many friends in high places (iPlaces?).
“Apple is not willing to pay a dime,” he said. “They’re making profit, and they should share the responsibility for our city, but they won’t. They abuse us.”
When he was kicked out of Apple HQ, Chang had turned up to talk about traffic congestion, only to be escorted out immediately by Apple security. “They said ‘you cannot come in, you’re not invited.’ After that I left and have not gone back,” Chang said.
“Look at the system we have here: The rich people get more richer and the poor cannot survive,” he added. “Where’s the fairness? Nowhere.”
This isn’t the first time Apple has been accused of dodging taxes. Recently, company co-founder Steve Wozniak told the BBC that he believes Apple should pay upward of 50 percent of everything it makes in taxes. Apple has also been the subject of a long EU investigation into its tax affairs.
Apple, for its part, has always been insistent that it pays every cent that it owes. During last year’s “Inside Apple” episode of 60 Minutes, Tim Cook labeled reports that Apple doesn’t pay its taxes “total political crap.” In the same interview, Cook also railed against the idea of U.S. tax codes built for the industrial age instead of the digital age.
What do you think? Is Cupertino’s mayor right to stand up against one of the world’s biggest and most powerful corporations, or is this an attempt to squeeze more money out of an organization that already generates a massive amount of money for the U.S.? Leave your comments below.
Source: The Guardian
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
18 responses to “Apple ‘abuses’ Cupertino, says new mayor”
Leftist always think they deserve other people’s money, especially California politicians.
Yes, that money should be given to rich billionaires, like God intended.
Cupertino is the rich. It’s the 11th wealthiest city with over 50k residents in the U.S., and has a median home value in excess of $1.8M. I live here. With all the inflated housing prices in the Bay Area Cupertino is one of the highest.
No, the guy is just out of line. Don’t put everyone in the same boat just because one person is out of line. The fact is that Governments have policies and procedures to raise tax rates, you just don’t go to a business without an appointment strong-arming them for more money. They OBVIOUSLY gave Apple permits to build these new buildings and they pay whatever taxes they have to pay, if they wanted more, that should have been negotiated before they granted permission OR they have to go through the proper procedures.
I totally agree. It sounds like he’s on a one-man crusade while the rest of the city government says “Dude, Chill.”
Cupertino is an incredibly wealthy city – one of the richest in the Country. I can assure you, all are believers and beneficiaries of our market economy.
Sounds like another left-wing nutball like Bernie Sanders.
Right wing can be just as bad. Remember Bush when he said “no new taxes”? Or do you need a refresher course? It’s just politicians in general and I don’t think it’s a right or left wing issue. Some politicians understand the policies and procedures and some don’t. Obviously, if Apple has a lot of employees that live in Cupertino, they can always not vote for him next time he’s up for re-election. :-)
It sounds like a Rookie move, he obviously didn’t get the memo on how to increase taxes.
How many employees does Apple have in Cupertino? Is $1,000 out of line for a yearly tax payment? Apple already paid about 18% ($1.9 Million) of the City’s total revenue, so what’s the big deal? Do they have to pay 50%? What would his proposed new taxes be? He needs to go through the proper procedures for getting a tax increase. At this rate, he may not get re-elected.
The $1.9M number quoted in the article is incorrect. The actual amount is $9.1M (see original article). Cupertino is one of the wealthiest cities in the U.S. Thier Mayor sat on the council that approved the project and touts it as a success on his State Assembly campaign page: ‘Barry is an effective champion for the residents. His diligent negotiations with Apple resulted in the approval of the company’s $5 billion Campus 2 Project, which is producing numerous local construction jobs and will assure the retention of more than 12,000 high-tech R&D jobs.’
Could they pay more taxes and donate more money? Certainly.
Should they? They most likely pay what they legally have to, why would they pay more? They’re a business. They’re in it to make money
Don’t get it. Apple abuses everyone, especially its customers. So what’s his point? Nothing new here.
they have a duty to maximise profits for their shareholders … unfortunately shareholders nowadays are becoming more and more clueless that having a social conscience might actually be good for business and what taxes are actually used for.
“Paying what they owe” is bit of trite excuse when they orchestrated such a favourable deal in the first place and smacks of greed by disguised proxy. In the UK Starbucks, Google, Facebook literally have billions in turnover but pay a pittance in corporation tax due to the tax breaks they themselves set up in the first place … people are getting fed up with it.
Ridiculous! Apple already pays $1.9 million a year in taxes, most likely the highest taxpayer in the city, but the new socialist mayor thinks Apple should be held to a different standard than everyone else by paying more taxes. Apple is also one of the largest employers in the area, bringing jobs and income to residents. However, the mayor (I would guess he’s a Democrat) thinks that Apple should pay a percentage that is greater than anyone else because they make lots of money. This is typical socialist think: “You have lots of money, so you should give it to us.” Apple is falsely painted as dodging taxes, when it pays a whopping 8% of the TOTAL taxes in the area! We are a nation of laws. When you treat some people differently from others, it’s not OK. Liberals constantly harp on how everyone should be treated the same, yet this mayor thinks Apple should be taxed higher than other businesses. Why? Because they make a lot of money. This goofball socialist attitude is what ruins communities and countries. People and businesses should be treated equally and should pay a consistent percentage on their profits. When you set about to punish businesses that are successful, you get reduced production and growth (which really should be rewarded). Apple is being presented as the bad guy when they pay more taxes and employ more people in the community than just about anyone else. How fair is that.
Socialists of the world UNITE (and then move to a small island somewhere where you don’t inflict your idiocy on the rest of us).
He’s not a socialist – few are in Cupertino where the median home value is $1.8M. Traffic gets really congested in the area and the new campus will exasperate it. Cupertino should’ve addressed prior to approving the project if it was such a concern. Regardless, I think Mr. Chang is trying to get publicity for his State Assembly run.
No, but use some commen sense. Wealth or lack thereof is highly correlated with views and support of specific economic models and theories. Mr. Chang lives in one of the wealthiest cities in the county, built on a tech sector which in itself is a product of a mostly market economy.
This area is soaked with money. Mr. Chang is also a small business owner that made his wealth through real estate and financial services – a another strike against any supposed ‘socialist’ or ‘Marxist’ credentials. Is it possible? Sure. Is it likely? No.
Apple paid $9.1M in tax – not $1.9M.