Apple is reportedly arguing that their real estate is worth "two hundred bux" - Sensationalist Headlines

Concerns over Apple's elaborate efforts to reduce its tax bill are nothing new. The company — which hit a historic $1 trillion valuation this month — was punished in 2016 for a tax deal in Ireland, which the EU said amounted to illegal state aid. But a newly discovered tactic has reignited the debate about the company's tax contributions. The San Francisco Chronicle reported over the weekend that Apple was "aggressive in opposing tax assessors," the public officials who determine the value of property for tax reasons. Apple may be the biggest taxpayer in Santa Clara County, where its Cupertino headquarters is based, but The Chronicle said it had 489 open tax appeals in the area, disputing $8.5 billion (£6.7 billion) in property value. In a 2015 appeal, Apple claimed that a "cluster of properties" around Apple Park was worth $200, rather than the $1 billion figure alighted on by Santa Clara County's tax assessor. In another, Apple said a property valued at $384 million by local officials was also worth $200, The Chronicle said. Sauce

Okay that's pretty fucking blatant

I'll buy it

i guess subtlety isn't an apple thing at least take the 1 billion and just knock a zero off, something that you could probably get away with

I'll double the value and pay them $400. That'll be more than enough for them to acquire new real estate of equal value.

Claim eminent domain. Pay them 200 dollars. See how quick they change their tune.

Eh, I have only 175, but I'll give 'em like a pencil rubber and a half-empty bottle of Mirinda

I'll chip in a fart and 3 cheeze-its

i'll see your 400 and raise to 4000 no way im letting go of this opportunity so give me some face

Congratulations, you're now a shareholder

If it's worth $200 then surely a company could offer them $200 and they'd have to drop this plea, or else they'd be rumbled? Zero thought.

fuck OFF apple you don't get to take up a huge piece of land and not pay your dues the land here is expensive enough as it is and the infrastructure sure as shit ain't able to handle all the new people you're bringing into the area. do your part for the love of god

that's just patent abuse of the law there. If they want to argue 500 million sure but this is just bad

No no, we can't call it patent abuse. That is an entirely different fucked up thing that Apple does.

I'm being that guy. https://files.facepunch.com/forum/upload/237427/a782da10-6ced-4174-8070-34189fbb0869/image.png

Quite honestly, as shitty as this is for them to do, if they can get away with it within the bounds of the law then it's not really Apple's fault. The tax code and the laws around it are shit, and they were designed that way on purpose. You can't change companies pinching pennies, but you can change the law that condones it.

I read in another article that there is some confusion if they actually mean $200, or $200 million. I'm trying to find that article again.

I get what you're saying but that doesn't change the fact Apple's still extremely shitty for abusing such a loophole.

I'm not defending what they are doing as morally just, I'm just saying that you can get angry at Apple for doing what they are doing, but if the law allows such a thing, then you can't really expect them to do otherwise if it isn't in their best interests.

It was a joke, guys. Jesus.

I'd love to see the government use this as an excuse to seize their property, demolish it, and turn it into a public park (complete with apple trees planted on the land), all while only paying them $200 Of course that's probably never going to happen, but damn would it be awesome to see

they've lost their bite as time's gone on, unless you're an average joe

what would happen if someone smashed a window? How could they justify the offender paying anything more than a fraction of a penny?

Valuing something at X does mean you have an obligation to sell it at price X. Mona Lisa is valued to be worth quite a bit but it doesn't mean the museum is going to actually sell it that price if someone coughs up the money.