Apple – “Think” Taxes

Tech giant Apple is on the hot seat again for apparently paying nothing for corporation taxes for its UK subsidiaries in 2012.

According to the corporate results filed by the company, its two subsidiaries made pre-tax profits of around 60 million pounds, and sales of over 1 billion pounds combined. So why the company pay zero in taxes?

According to Forbes, there are three things to consider before allegations are made against the company.

First, iTunes sales are made in Luxembourg as VAT rates are lower. Furthermore, the EU tax law itself states that “electronic services” pay taxes in the country they come from and not the country where the service is delivered. For physical services or items, the rate will follow the place of delivery. So in the case of iTunes’ digital downloads, all the taxes will be settled in Luxembourg even if the recipient is in the UK.

Second, Apple being a global company, has its business structured strategically. Apple purchases its materials from China via an Irish company which will then sell the products to different dealers and Apple stores all over the world. The profits earned by the Irish company will are taxed in Ireland – although in Ireland, taxes only need to be paid if the transaction took place within the country – so no taxes need to be paid.

Finally, operating profits are not subject to taxes in the UK. What are taxed are the profits before tax. What the company does is that it issues stocks to the management as part of their pay. Expenses due to employee pay are deducted from pre-tax profits, and only then will they be only to calculate the taxes due.

While there is nothing illegal about what Apple is doing as far as its taxes as concerned, it all seems dodgy and a little discomforting for some. After all – Apple’s signature is to “Think” – and so there is actually no surprise to the company’s creativity in managing its finances.

Still High Taxes in Hoboken City Despite 1.9% City Property Tax Cut

Property owners of Hoboken City may still be expecting high taxes even after the city council approved the 104.8-million-dollar municipal budget, a means to lower taxes on city property by 1.9%. Apparently, the 1.9-percent tax deduction isn’t enough to offset the 9-percent hike on taxes.

The city council approved the municipal budget recently. Jennifer Giattino, a councilwoman, voted against it, but her sole vote lost to the approving seven. Her disagreement arose from what she reckons as issues in funding a number of programs included in the initial budget. When the state approves the budget, the Hudson County tax board shall set the levy and consequently send tax bills to local property owners.

So what happens is if you have a $145,000 property, the municipal tax for that would now be $2,435, instead of $2,482.

Juan Melli, city spokesman, said they need the certified tax rate from the county so they could ascertain how the country budget will affect the property owners of Hoboken. The Hudson Country freeholders have adopted a 495-million-dollar budget for 2013, suggesting a rise in Hoboken’s taxes by 8.8%.

It’s clear that the property taxes in many municipalities in New Jersey have increased. However, Mayor Dawn Zimmer implied that their new budget should reduce municipal taxes by more or less 10%. Zimmer disagrees with the city council’s decision to put off key projects, but he thinks it is consistent with the budget his administration proposed earlier this year.

The city council has to postpone some of Mayor Zimmer’s proposed projects to cut back on expenditure. Included in the deferred plans are 9/11 Memorial, pedestrian safety improvements, and flood rescue vehicles.

 

Tobacco Taxes Could Save Lives

The latest anti-smoking campaign measures include higher taxes on tobacco products. They have also placed bans on lighting up in public. Experts predict that these measures could possibly prevent millions of premature deaths around the globe.

Between 2007 to 2010, Turkey, Romania and thirty nine other countries established taxes and bans on smoking in public places that have already saved lives, a study published by the World Health Organization says.

Professor David Levy the lead author of the study from Georgetown University Medical Center located in Washington says that, “”If the progress attained by these … countries were extended globally, tens of millions of smoking-related deaths could be averted.”

Experts predict that a wider use of tobacco taxes and bans could potentially decrease health care costs and higher birth rates in babies resulting in healthier children.

Pakistan, Argentina and Italy have plans that they hope will reach an estimated 15 million people and convince them not to smoke. The study estimates that this plan could nearly 7.4 million smoking related deaths by 2050.

All recent studies seem to prove that the most effective steps in saving lives and reducing the numbers of smokers is higher taxes and bans. By banning smoking in businesses, restaurants and other public places could prevent 2.5 million smoking related deaths. Taxes could prevent 3.5 million deaths the study states.

Each year six million people die smoking related deaths. If the trend continues the experts say those numbers could reach eight million before 2030. The WHO is waging war on “Big Tobacco,” but to win this war it needs individual states to tax cigarettes heavily and ban smoking in public places.