Copyright © 2013 Knight Sac Media. All rights reserved.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/subject.aspx?subjectid=6136Welcome to the Apple Inc. board on SI. This thread is moderated. If you wish to participate here, please read at least the first two sections below. RULES The basic rule is that all participants must be polite to each other. Try to imagine that you are sitting in a living room with everyone else. ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/images/Logo380x132.pnghttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/subject.aspx?subjectid=613638013210Edward Boghosianhttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289079595/21/2013 8:22:26 PMElroyThe problem would be almost completely resolved if Congress and the administration reduced corporate taxes no a level no higher than 20%, down from 35%. If the tax rate were 20% rather than 35%, but the corporation can survive without repatriating the cash, why would they repatriate the cash at 20%? That still turns...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289078925/21/2013 7:47:23 PMclean86My biggest problem with the new xbox is it isn't backward compatible so all of my current xbox games won't work any more and I have many that I play constantly. If there is a patch that could be installed to make the current games playable I might consider upgrading. The new hardware that leaves the current users in ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289077955/21/2013 6:59:00 PMNeal GuttenbergJust to change the subject, MSFT unveiled their new xbox 1 forums.appleinsider.com  This was from an Apple centric site so a lot of the negative comments were to be expected. But when I viewed something from a more neutral site like Forbes forbes.com  even though on skimming the article it seemed positive, many of...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289077655/21/2013 6:36:46 PMBrian Sullivan"The only person on the committee defending Apple, and defending the concept of low taxes and limited government, is Senator Rand Paul." Sen. Paul Defends Apple: Doesn’t everyone try to reduce their tax burden? randpaulreview.com[graphic]http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289077145/21/2013 6:08:18 PMMoonrayAll things Apple: Competitive eater downs more than 11lbs of apple pie [graphic] Read more: newsfixnow.com  o~~~ Ohttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289077095/21/2013 6:03:39 PMclean86Thanks for your restraint and I agree that Cook looked like a CEO and am glad he is running Apple.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289076995/21/2013 5:58:32 PMclean86Calling "politics" on that one. I would agree with you if we were only talking about Taxes. There have been however grabs at the cash pile by an Activist Investor and disgruntled Shareholders. I tried to make my statement as nonpolitical as I possible could and this was a continuation of an earlier post where I forma...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289076925/21/2013 5:55:28 PMMoonrayFive things we learned from Tuesday’s big Apple tax hearing In truth, despite tough talk from Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and ranking member John McCain (R-Ariz.), and the occasional tense exchange, this was not particularly toxic as hearings go. Apple CEO...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289076915/21/2013 5:54:10 PMNeal GuttenbergClean, Hard to respond to how I felt about the testimony today without getting overly political or preachy. What I will say is that I like how Cook and the Apple team handled themselves. Very professional and very cool on the parts that I saw and heard. It would have been easy to get angry and fire back at some of t...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289076865/21/2013 5:52:43 PMMoonrayThis week's top 10 paid and free apps for iPhone and iPad on the App Store [graphic]By The Associated Press App Store Official Charts for the week ending May 20, 2013: Top Paid iPhone Apps: 1. A Beautiful Mess (Red Velvet Art LLC) 2. Heads Up! (Warner Bros.) 3. WhatsApp Messenger (WhatsApp Inc.) 4. Minecraft -...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289076715/21/2013 5:43:38 PMMoonrayLastly, I did see one poll (that I would post if I could remember where) that had 3 choices something like..... That's probably the poll that I posted the URL to: [graphic]Message 28906588 o~~~ Ohttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289076435/21/2013 5:28:07 PMRoad WalkerPeople see a big pile of cash and want to get their hands on it regardless of whether they deserve it or not. Calling "politics" on that one. http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289076055/21/2013 5:11:17 PMRoad WalkerI generally like Carl Levin bashing bad guys but I thought he over did it trying to get Apple to agree with him on that one point. It sure seemed like he was reaching and everyone was just waiting for him to stop. And, if you haven't seen Rand Paul's rant, you should. Saw the whole thing. As usual with taxes (and the...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289076025/21/2013 5:08:26 PMclean86I think the big plus was the stock didn't drop a ton so the Market liked what it heard. Tomorrow may be a different story. I think the Apple team did as good a job as they could have and so far I've heard more about the interaction between Levin and Paul than about anything Tim said. I also believe the problem is th...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289075405/21/2013 4:38:25 PMKelly G.Fair enough. Not the poll I was referring too but here is another: Is Carl Levin or Rand Paul Right on Apple's Tax Avoidance? 20.83% Carl Levin79.17% Rand Paul [graphic] I generally like Carl Levin bashing bad guys but I thought he over did it trying to get Apple to agree with him on that one point. It sure seeme...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289075285/21/2013 4:32:11 PMRoad WalkerJust saying it could have been better, not that they sucked. The tax guy was my favorite... Totally out of his element and handled it well.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289074755/21/2013 4:10:32 PMKelly G.Lost opportunity.I don't think so. Even Levin at the end was praising Apple as a corporation and for Tim Cook's cooperation. Other Senators were also already blaming the Tax Code prior to Tim Cook even speaking. Lastly, I did see one poll (that I would post if I could remember where) that had 3 choices something like ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289074575/21/2013 4:01:56 PMCrashJPMorganNo, the FBAR is simply for any US person to declare their offshore holdings. It has nothing to do with the IRS. It's DHShttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289074425/21/2013 3:54:59 PMCrashJPMorganhttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289074385/21/2013 3:53:30 PMMoonrayMr. Cook came to Washington and escaped unscathed FORTUNE -- In February, the Huffington Post's Jason Gilbert reviewed the performance of Apple ( AAPL) shares on days that Tim Cook spoke in public and concluded, as his headline put it, The Last 6 Times Tim Cook Has Talked, Apple's Stock Has Dropped. More at: tech....http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289073895/21/2013 3:30:07 PMMoonrayTwo Vegas Men Charged: Teen Was Killed for His iPad Police in Las Vegas, Nevada have arrested two men accused of killing a 15-year-old boy while stealing his iPad. Marcos Arenas, 15, was walking down a street with the iPad when a passenger got out of a vehicle and tried to steal the device from him. When the youth w...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289073775/21/2013 3:21:54 PMMoonrayApple has topped Google in the race for the world’s most valuable brand. Despite the utter beating Apple has endured on Wall Street since last fall, there are no scuff marks on Apple’s brand power. Conquering fellow brand titans like Coca-Cola and McDonalds, Apple once again received top honors from BrandZ. And the...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289073635/21/2013 3:15:57 PMMoonrayFormer Apple, Palm Executive Mike Bell to Head Intel’s New Devices Unit While it isn’t going into detail about its plans for a new devices unit, Intel has tapped a leader whose expertise goes well beyond chips. The new group will look at emerging technologies and product trends, including ultra-mobile products, Int...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289073415/21/2013 3:06:31 PMRoad WalkerI think Senator radical comb-over did not make a great case. I think he did, in a particularly nasty way. He basically said lets call a spade a spade. The reason you're keeping a shell company in Ireland is not tradition, it's to keep $35billion in your hands not the US governments pockets. True or false? I wish i...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289073335/21/2013 3:01:50 PMMoonrayApple Is About To Get A Deep Integration With Flickr, Which Is Going To Be Awesome For iPhone Users Apple is going to integrate IAC's video site Vimeo and Yahoo's photo sharing site Flickr into the next version of iOS, the software that runs iPhones and iPads, Mark Gurman of 9 to 5 Mac reports. Gurman says iOS ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289073325/21/2013 3:01:37 PMMoonrayEU leaders look to end Apple-style tax avoidance schemes BRUSSELS/PARIS (Reuters) - Growing concern in European capitals about aggressive tax avoidance by high-profile corporations such as Amazon, Google and Apple looks set to steal the agenda of a European Union summit in Brussels on Wednesday. The summit was orig...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289073115/21/2013 2:53:45 PMMoonrayApple's Tim Cook is Wall Street hero for a day While lawmakers took turns bashing Apple ( AAPL) for its creative tax policies, investors were cheering on CEO Tim Cook as he defended the company and pushed Congress to overhaul the tax code. The general consensus among traders on StockTwits was that Cook looked like ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289073055/21/2013 2:49:51 PMrnsmthhttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289072785/21/2013 2:38:03 PMArt Bechhoeferthey paid a 30% tax rate on earnings last year Clean86 -- That must have been the tax rate on TAXABLE earnings, probably not on total earnings, including those associated with Irish subsidiaries, paying virtually no taxes. Let's take Apple at its word and use the 30% figure -- deducting 30% from Apple's interest co...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289071585/21/2013 2:05:16 PMRoad WalkerI heard Tim say they paid a 30% tax rate on earnings last year. That was on Americas profits, not world profits. http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289071325/21/2013 1:55:36 PMRoad WalkerThe hearing just ended, with a LONG 'impassioned condemnation' of AAPL's tax avoidance policies by Levin. He talked at length about how AAPL generates it's intellectual property in the US but puts the bulk of it's profits into the Irish subs... Very little response from the AAPL guys, they sat there and took it for the...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289071245/21/2013 1:53:49 PMclean86I heard Tim say they paid a 30% tax rate on earnings last year. I wonder if they will post a transcript on the testimony since I seen several different numbers between 14 and 30% Overall I think things went as well as could be expected today and little if anything will come as a result.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289071155/21/2013 1:52:07 PMJohn KoligmanArt, in the hearing the AAPL guys agreed with Levin when he said that for their overall business they pay a 14% effective tax rate...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289070745/21/2013 1:39:40 PMJohn KoligmanThe hearing just ended, with a LONG 'impassioned condemnation' of AAPL's tax avoidance policies by Levin. He talked at length about how AAPL generates it's intellectual property in the US but puts the bulk of it's profits into the Irish subs... Very little response from the AAPL guys, they sat there and took it for ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289070655/21/2013 1:37:34 PMArt BechhoeferRight, but it would also help smaller companies in a different way. A reduced tax rate (no higher than 20%, and in fact as low as 10%) would contribute to free cash flow, which smaller corporations often find difficult to maintain as they grow. The lower tax rate could also be enhanced by a tax credit for research an...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289070635/21/2013 1:37:18 PMKelly G.The problem would be almost completely resolved if Congress and the administration reduced corporate taxes no a level no higher than 20%, down from 35%. Many major corporations have found ways to avoid paying much tax on substantial portions of their earnings (e.g., Apple, GE, Qualcomm). Overseas earnings, currently no...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289070385/21/2013 1:27:30 PMArt BechhoeferThe problem would be almost completely resolved if Congress and the administration reduced corporate taxes no a level no higher than 20%, down from 35%. Many major corporations have found ways to avoid paying much tax on substantial portions of their earnings (e.g., Apple, GE, Qualcomm). Overseas earnings, currently ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289070235/21/2013 1:21:53 PMJohn KoligmanLevin hammering all three AAPL guys pretty strongly now, making the point that AAPL brings home profits from the Americas, yet shifted 'economic rights' for the rest of the world to their Irish entities for tax purposes.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289070225/21/2013 1:21:35 PMclean86Listening to the testimony all morning and I have to say I'm impressed by Tim and how he is handling himself. The question and answer has been less grandstanding by the Senators than I've seen in the past and firmly believe that there has been no illegal activity done by Apple in how it conducts business. So far the ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289070185/21/2013 1:20:47 PMNeal GuttenbergDepending on the second part of the session, one might say it was a masterful stroke by Tim Cook testifying. He, and therefore Apple, may be able to have a greater say in how the tax laws are rewritten, which could be very beneficial to Apple. Nealhttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289068205/21/2013 12:26:18 PMJohn KoligmanLevin is focusing on the Irish subsidiary and the 2% max tax there. Don't know this guy Bullock but he looks and sounds like a deer caught in the headlights... http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289067345/21/2013 12:03:39 PMSr Khttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289066945/21/2013 11:49:47 AMDoren> This is a CRIME. It doesn't matter that they are smarter than you and I, they are stealing out of our pockets. Yes Apple isn't alone. It has to stop. Capitalism sucks It may be in YOUR eyes. But you are blaming the wrong people. Congress has a 10% approval rate and around a 95% re-election rate depending on how you...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289066155/21/2013 11:17:39 AMMoonrayYou guys are masochists. Watching a senate hearing on TV? Include ME out. I'm just listening, not watching :-) This enables me to surf, watch prices and take polls like: Take our poll on Apple’s taxes blogs.marketwatch.com  o~~~ Ohttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289065885/21/2013 11:10:42 AMRoad Walkerhttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289065645/21/2013 11:02:30 AMDorenYou guys are masochists. Watching a senate hearing on TV? ... On the sitcom NewsRadio Dave tries to buy a giant TV for his geek girlfriend Lisa who will have nothing of it until she discovers C-span broadcasts live 24hours a day and becomes and instant TV vidiot. While Lisa can't take her eyes off the Senate hearing ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289065575/21/2013 10:59:48 AMSr Khttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289065565/21/2013 10:59:32 AMRoad WalkerI picture Steve Jobs eventually getting to f##k off and walking out. Which, regardless of I think politically, would be great fun. The one thing I hope Cook says is "listen we're just following the laws you guys wrote, as is our fiduciary duty to out stockholders. If you don't like the outcome then YOU can change ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289065015/21/2013 10:41:21 AMMoonrayLive blog of Senate Apple hearing with CEO Tim Cook blogs.marketwatch.com  o~~~ O http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=289064945/21/2013 10:39:29 AM