The Biggest Takeaways From Apple's Tax Grilling

The Mac maker's tax strategy has been under fire ever since The New York Times ran an expose about a year ago, "How Apple Sidesteps Billions in Taxes."


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That brought attention from lawmakers, even though the issue at hand is really how broken the U.S. corporate tax system is. Apple just happens to be perhaps the highest-profile example of tax minimization. Here are the biggest takeaways from the hearing and Apple's testimonies, which were delivered by CEO Tim Cook, CFO Peter Oppenheimer, and head of tax operations Philip Bullock.


Strangely, there's a double standard when it comes to corporate income tax and individual income tax. It's entirely acceptable for individuals to seek tax minimization. Every tax preparing service promises to get you the "largest refund ever," which indubitably translates into paying the least amount legally possible.

However, when corporations do this for the benefit of their shareholders, they get vilified. It's also worth noting that the majority of Apple's shareholders are American individuals, whether they own shares individually or through a mutual fund or pension fund, so Apple's broad domestic investor base benefits from tax minimization.


the company has released a 17-page statement  outlining its tax policy.