On Tuesday, May 21, 2013, Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI) and John McCain (R-AZ) took issue with Apple, one of the most successful corporations in United States history, for not paying enough taxes. You may have a huge, puzzled expression on your face right now after reading that, and it would be understandable. Apple leads all corporations in paying taxes, handing over nearly $6 billion a year to the U.S. Treasury. That amounts to $16 million a day.
Do-gooders McCain and Levin cited a Senate panel report that claims Apple avoided paying billions of dollars in taxes “in the U.S. and around the world through a web of subsidiaries.” However, as Rush Limbaugh pointed out on his radio show yesterday, this is in regards to money earned outside the country that the U.S. has no right to anyway.
If anyone is at fault, it would be the government, i.e. Congress, for mismanaging the funds it receives and making it nearly impossible for companies to conduct business effectively and profitably.
It came to a head when Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) called his colleagues out on their gripes. So eloquently, he stated:
“Frankly, I’m offended by the tone and tenor of this hearing. I’m offended by a $4 trillion government bullying, berating, and badgering one of America’s greatest success stories … If anyone should be on trial here, it should be Congress. I frankly think the committee should apologize to Apple. I think Congress should be on trial here for creating a bizarre and byzantine tax code that runs into the tens of thousands of pages, for creating a tax code that simply doesn’t compete with the rest of the world.”
Sen. Paul also suggested that if they want to see the real problem, they should bring a giant mirror into the room for Congress to look into.
The audacity for some members of Congress to rail on Apple CEO Tim Cook for running a successful business that employs thousands of Americans and pays billions of dollars in taxes to the federal government is astonishing. All while many in Congress use Apple iPhones, iPads, iPods, and Apple computers in their daily lives.
