Apple tax strategies

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on Apple tax strategies:

U.S. loophole could shave billions off Apple’s next tax bill

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Apple is worth more than the entire US energy sector combined
Apple could save $4.1 billion due to the date-related quirk.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A possible quirk of the recent U.S. tax law change could net Apple an extra $4.1 billion, claims a new report.

A timing loophole in the tax overhaul that enables repatriation of companies’ overseas cash piles, means businesses whose fiscal years don’t follow the calendar year will get an extra one-off tax break. This includes Apple, whose tax year starts in October, but excludes Alphabet, whose fiscal year begins January 1.

Apple wants to buy up half a city block in Reno, Nevada

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Apple helped turn Reno, Nevada, into a booming city.
Apple wants a new purchasing and receiving facility.
Photo: Lvtalon/Wikipedia CC

Apple plans to purchase half a city block in downtown Reno, Nevada, to build a new 30,000-square-foot facility, according to city records.

The Reno City Council will discuss the proposal this week at its Wednesday meeting. Discussions concerning Apple taking over the property date back as far as 2012.

Will Trump be good for Apple? [Friday Night Fights]

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How will Apple fare in the Trump era?
How will Apple fare in the Trump era?
Image: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac. Original photo: Michael Vadon/Flickr CC

In case you hadn’t noticed, the United States has a new leader — and President Donald Trump has a bone to pick with Apple. Several, actually.

Will Trump’s “America first” stance and pro-business policies help Apple or give Tim Cook a series of premium headaches? Cult of Mac editors Leander Kahney and Lewis Wallace come out swinging in this week’s edition of “Friday Night Fights.”

Apple: Massive EU tax bill is just about making headlines

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money
Apple's general counsel thinks the move against Apple is basically clickbait.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple has launched its legal challenge against the European Union’s demand of $14 billion in allegedly unpaid back taxes.

In a statement, Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell said Cupertino has been targeted because of its success, implying that European legislators picked on the company for largely symbolic reasons.

EU governments meet to divvy up $14.5 billion Apple tax windfall

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money
Apple hasn't paid the money yet, but already it's being divvied up.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

European Union finance ministers reportedly discussed how to divvy up the windfall from Apple’s 13 billion euros tax bill at a closed-door meeting in Slovakia over the weekend.

Some European governments were reportedly more keen on getting their hands on Apple’s money than others, with Germany’s Wolfgang Schäuble saying, “Of course we’re looking into it.”

One more thing? Hear our iPhone 7 event hardware predictions on The CultCast

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Will we get more than the iPhone 7 next week?
Will we get more than the iPhone 7 next week?
Photo: Forbes

This week The CultCast: What new hardware will Apple bestow upon us at next week’s iPhone 7 event? Don’t miss our predictions! Plus: New video shows iPhone 7 Plus in the wild, and we explain Apple’s Irish tax woes (then argue about the situation).

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to build a website that looks beautiful on any device that visits at Squarespace.com. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off.

Why Tim Cook’s open letter about taxes struggles to paint Apple as the underdog

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1984
Who is Big Brother and who's the rebel freedom fighter?
Photo: Apple

With his open letter defending Apple’s Irish tax strategy, Tim Cook positions his company as a sledgehammer-tossing freedom fighter at battle with Big Brother-style EU bureaucracy.

But unlike Cook’s previous missives on LGBT rights and the importance of privacy, this open letter seems unlikely to be met with near-unanimous support. While railing against the EU’s massive assessment of €13 billion euros in back taxes owed by Apple, Cook ignores the facts of the matter — and seems tone-deaf about painting the world’s biggest company as an underdog.

Apple gets an unexpected €13 billion tax bill

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money
Apple just got landed with the tax bill from hell.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The verdict’s in on Apple’s European tax investigation, and the company has been handed a massive 13 billion euros ($14.52 billion) bill for unpaid back taxes in the Republic of Ireland.

The order was made by European Union competition officials, who ruled that Apple was taking advantage of illegal state aid that allowed the company to route profits through Ireland.

10 things we learned from Apple’s 60 Minutes episode

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60 Minutes
Jony Ive shows Charlie Rose the company's secret design studio.
Photo: CBS

60 Minutes host Charlie Rose took a deep dive into all things Apple in an episode that aired Sunday.

Featuring interviews with Tim Cook, Jony Ive, Phil Schiller, Angela Ahrendts and others, the show explored everything from the iPhone’s inner workings and Apple’s manufacturing in China to Cook dancing around the question of whether Apple is building a car.

Check out our 10 takeaways below.

Inside Apple’s secretive iMac plant in Ireland

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Apple's Hollyhill, Cork factory is the only Apple-run manufacturing facility in the world.
Apple's Hollyhill, Cork factory is the only directly Apple-run manufacturing facility in the world.
Photo: Irish Examiner

When people talk about Apple’s Irish operations, it’s normally negatively, regarding questionable tax practices. But the company operates a 4,000-person factory in Cork, Ireland, that builds iMacs — and it’s the only Apple-owned manufacturing facility in the world.

The Irish Examiner recently got a peek inside the secretive Apple manufacturing plant in Cork. Check out some photos below.