Apple Pays Federal Income Tax Worth $6 Billion In 2012
Even the extremely successful Apple isn’t safe from the taxman. If anything, it’s due to pay some of the highest federal income tax in the United States.
MacRumors has reported that Apple has paid a total of $6 Billion in federal income tax for 2012. The amount tallies up to about a fortieth of the total corporate tax collected by the United States government. That is a little above 2% from the overall total, solidifying Apple as one of the highest taxed companies in the country.
Despite its staggering federal income tax bill, Apple has been often criticized for using the legal system to cut down its federal income tax. Apple allots an estimated 70 percent of its total revenue abroad. This allows Apple to make use of foreign laws to shield itself from high United States federal income tax.
Still, Apple claims that any federal income tax exemptions it may enjoy are well within the laws of the United States government.
Apple has been reported to be one of the first corporations to utilize what is now known as the “Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich”. The method allows a company to cut down its federal income tax by coursing its profits through various European subsidiaries before returning back into the corporation. The result is a substantial decrease in owed federal income tax. Because of Apple’s success with the method, it isn’t uncommon for notable multinational corporations to use the same method to curb its own federal income tax.
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax Tags: corporate tax, federal income tax, federal tax, tax increase, tax the rich
Federal income tax changes to your January paychecks
Obama administration and US congress have agreed to the 2013 federal income tax rates, but it may affect your January paychecks. The Washington leaders are busy in a talk about 2013 income tax negotiations, but still no final agreement has been reached. UC process the payroll payments to many employees early in January and you will continue with federal income tax rates of 2012 till President Barrack Obama and Congress reach a final agreement and implement new guidelines for 2013 federal income tax brackets.
The new tax rates will be published once IRS offers the official guidelines and organizations will need to upgrade their payroll structure accordingly. Federal income tax rates for 2013 will be published along with IRS publications and new payroll system will not make any adjustments after fully implementation of new tax rates. But it is important to know that January paychecks will reflect the two tax changes;
- The updated 2013 California income tax rates resulting from income passage of Governor Brown and sales tax initiatives for 2013, under proposition 30.
- QASDI social security of employee will be updated from current value of 4.2 percent to new value of 6.2 percent tax rate.
It means 25 percent federal income tax along with 38.3 percent Medicare payroll taxes and 13.3 percent social security are going to federal income tax in 2012. For a middle-class tax filer, the average state income tax is 4.82 percent, which brings 43.12% to state and federal taxes.
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax, Tax Law Tags: corporate tax, federal income tax, federal tax, income tax, payroll tax, tax code, tax increase, tax reform
France throws out tax hike on the rich
France- The high court for France struck down a supertax on its nations most elite individuals. This serves as a major blow to President Francois Hollande’s plan to repair France’s economy. This came days before it was proposed to pass the high court.
The high court saw that taxing individuals income over 1.32 million at a 75% tax rate was unconstitutional and highly unfair.
Almost immediately the socialist President vowed to modify and resubmit the proposal which had been passed by the Parliament earlier in the month.
Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in a statement that a new proposal to tax the rich “taking into account the principles raised by the Constitutional Council’s decision” would be drawn up as part of the next budget law submitted in 2013 or 2014. No further details of how and when this would be done were given.
The controversial measure was a pillar of Hollande’s success presidential campaign. The measure was proposed on a temporary basis and would effect less that 2000 people in the entire population of France and raise just shy of under a billion dollars during it being in effect. This will hardly solve the financial crisis that burdens this country.
This was just one of several measure s proposed by Hollande to bring down the countries spending deficit to 3% of its gross domestic product. The proposed timeframe for this to occur was within five years or his full term in office.
The measure which was widely support by the leftist wing of the political party drew nothing but criticism from conservatives and business owners that were concerned that such high tax rates would drive wealthy entrepreneurs to flee the country.
These concerns held footing when two of France’s most elite jumped shipped to move to Belgium supposedly to avoid the 75% tax rate. One of those two individuals is world renowned billionare Bernard Arnault, owner of luxury goods company Luis Vuitton.
A number of French nationales already have jumped ship to move to Switzerland, Belgium, and Britain which boast predominately lower tax burdens on the wealthy.
The ruling released by the Council on Saturday struck down the measure because it “failed to recognize equality” The proposed rule change would impact individuals only on income over 1.3 million dollars whereas everyone else in the country would skirt those high tax rates. This tax proposal would indirectly effect a small portion of the population in an unfair manner.
Upon hearing about this unfair ruling Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici recently confirmed that the federal government of France will not drop its pursuit to tax the wealthy to solve its debt crisis.
“Our deficit-cutting path will not be diverted,” Moscovici told BFM television.
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax, Tax Law Tags: corporate tax, federal income tax, federal tax, federal tax fraud, french tax, tax law, tax reform, tax the rich