We need to remember who writes the tax code, and it’s not Apple

A recent congressional report shed light on Apple’s strategy of avoiding US tax liability by holding offshore accounts. This kind of thing isn’t normally news, but in Apple’s case, they are holding over $100 billion that could be taxed at 35% - a massive sum of money, even in corporate America. The public’s reaction is as expected: everybody’s got their knickers in a twist.

Today, libertarian politician Rand Paul tweeted,

“It’s absurd for Congress to vilify businesses like Apple for wanting to minimize their tax code just like every other American rightly does”.

He’s got a point. Apple surely isn’t the only American company doing this, they’re just the biggest one to get caught. Can you even say they were caught? They’re not doing anything illegal, they’re using a loophole in the tax code. The tax code that is written by the same legislative body that is now complaining that Apple found a way around it. Like Congress, the public is generally reacting with scorn and distaste for Apple - if we pay our taxes, why shouldn’t they?

Here’s the problem: Apple pays every dime of taxes it owes. It doesn’t pay taxes on offshore accounts, because it doesn’t have to. And the people who say it doesn’t have to are the people in Congress complaining that it doesn’t. Huh?

Should Apple pay higher taxes? Ethically, it probably should. Legally, it shouldn’t. Practically, it doesn’t. If Apple should be paying higher taxes, is it really Apple’s job to recognize that and go above and beyond? How high should they pay? Whose job is it to set these limits? Is there a governing body that writes a tax code that tells companies how much they should pay? Oh wait, are we talking about Congress again?

If Congress wants not only Apple, but every American company that avoids American taxes with offshore accounts, to pay the taxes they should, then Congress should write a tax code that makes them pay these taxes.