庫克為蘋果避稅案出庭作證，毫發無傷
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????今年2月，美國著名博客網站《赫芬頓郵報》（Huffington Post）的專欄作者賈森?吉爾伯特在審視了每次庫克公開講話當天蘋果的股價表現后，在其文章標題中總結道： ????因此，本周二上午，蘋果投資者們將電視調到C-Span.org頻道，觀看庫克在美國參議院常設調查委員會亮相時，頗有些戰戰兢兢。該委員會已經對蘋果的離岸避稅天堂進行了詳盡的調查。 ????委員會于本周一發布的工作報告措辭嚴厲。而《紐約時報》（New York Times）的頭版頭條也十分尖銳（《蘋果避稅數十億美元》）。調查委員會主席卡爾?萊文（密歇根州民主黨議員）的新聞稿言辭很激烈： ????“蘋果并不滿足于將其利潤轉移到低稅收的離岸避稅天堂。”萊文說的是蘋果的愛爾蘭子公司，他稱：“蘋果在尋求避稅的終極途徑。它創建了離岸機構，持有數百億美元，卻不在任何地方申報納稅。我們打算揭露蘋果的這個把戲以及其它離岸避稅策略，讓老老實實納稅的美國工薪家庭認清，離岸稅收漏洞應該被堵住，因為它們推高了老百姓的稅務負擔，增加了聯邦政府赤字。” ????不過，緊張的蘋果投資者沒必要這么擔心。庫克的證詞冷靜又無懈可擊，而且他作完證之后，沒有任何人挑戰過他。 ????參議員們大都對庫克十分恭敬，甚至有奉承之嫌。 ????克萊爾?麥卡斯基爾（密蘇里州民主黨議員）一再表示自己是蘋果的忠實粉絲。羅恩?約翰遜（威斯康星州共和黨議員）稱贊蘋果公司的避稅策略對股東有利。羅布?波特曼（俄亥俄州共和黨議員）只想談自己的稅收改革提案。蘭德?保羅（肯塔基州共和黨議員）認為調查委員會應該向蘋果道歉。約翰?麥凱恩（亞利桑那州共和黨議員）在大談了一通逃稅之后，想知道自己的iPhone為何老是在更新應用。 |
????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. ????So it was with some trepidation that Apple investors tuned in to C-Span.org Tuesday morning to watch Cook's appearance before the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which had conducted a detailed probe of Apple's offshore tax havens. ????The subcommittee's staff report, released on Monday, was savage. The New York Times' front-page headline was scathing (Billions in Taxes Avoided by Apple...). Chairman Carl Levin's (Dem., Mich.) press release was fierce: ????"Apple wasn't satisfied with shifting its profits to a low-tax offshore tax haven," he said of Apple's Irish subsidiaries. "Apple sought the Holy Grail of tax avoidance. It has created offshore entities holding tens of billions of dollars, while claiming to be tax resident nowhere. We intend to highlight that gimmick and other Apple offshore tax avoidance tactics so that American working families who pay their share of taxes understand how offshore tax loopholes raise their tax burden, add to the federal deficit and ought to be closed." ????But those nervous Apple investors needn't have worried. Cook's testimony was calm and precise, and when it was over, nobody had laid a glove on him. ????The senators, for their part, were mostly respectful -- and on occasion fawning. ????Claire McCaskill (Dem., Mo.) couldn't say often enough how much she loved Apple. Ron Johnson (Rep., Wisc.) praised the company's tax minimization strategies as shareholder friendly. Rob Portman (Rep., Ohio) only wanted to talk about his tax reform proposals. Rand Paul (Rep., Ken.) thought the committee owed Apple an apology. John McCain (Rep., Ariz.), after a bout of tax dodging rhetoric, wanted to know why his iPhone was constantly updating its apps. |
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