Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) who left the company in 1987 said the criticisms against the tech giant related to tax policies is “extremely warranted.”
“Criticism of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s tax policies is extremely warranted, in my mind, but my explanation is rather long and difficult,” said Wozniak.
Wozniak added, “Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) itself, you’d think, would say, my gosh, there’s systems. We have to go for the way we can maximize our profits. For example, I know some people who are, like, lawyers. They work in California, but they pretend, they make it seem like they work in Nevada, so they can avoid the high state income tax.”
Steve Wozniak Thinks Apple Action Is Ethically Wrong
According to him, such action is “ethically wrong” and on a personal level, he believes that people always know when their actions are wrong.
Furthermore, Wozniak said that there is no such thing as personal ethics for corporations as they would do anything to make more profits. He said, “It’s like you will do anything, any scheme you can to maximize your profits.”
Moreover, Wozniak pointed out that people are taxed based on their income and not on profit. He believes that corporations should be taxed the same as people to make things fair and right.
“That means corporations pay taxes on all of their revenues or people only pay it on a tiny amount called profit, and until we rectify that the whole problem is just with us forever. That is why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer and I am always for the individual being much more important than their training, same reason I created the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) computer at the start, it was to empower the little guy,” said Wozniak.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is confronted with tax evasion allegations and it is using its subsidiaries in Ireland, Netherland, and the Caribbean to reduce its tax bill. A U.S. investigation found that the iPhone and iPad maker avoided the payment of $35 billion in taxes from its profit overseas in just two years. In defense, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) said it paid a large amount of taxes in the United States, both local and federal. The company emphasized that in 2012 alone its tax payment was $6 billion. The company also said that it is not using tax gimmicks to reduce its tax liability in the country.
Ireland’s Finance Minister Michael Noonan said Ireland is not a tax haven after the testimony of Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during a Congressional hearing. Noonan said Ireland doesn’t want to be a whipping boy for misunderstandings regarding the tax liabilities of the company in the United States. In his testimony, Cook reiterated that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) did nothing wrong and it paid all its tax liabilities.
