taxes

Apple's reputation untarnished by tax issue, study says

Apple's use of various tax loopholes to save money, as chronicled in a recent New York Times story, has not damaged the company's reputation, according to a new study.

Polling firm YouGov -- which we've previously mentioned in relation to one of Facebook's early privacy flaps -- says perceptions of Apple are back to where they were before the publication of the Times story, which focused on the company's tactics to save money by setting up businesses in tax-friendly locations.

The firm says Apple's reputation is "virtually Teflon," when compared to the tax story … Read more

Apple strikes tax deal for new campus in Texas

Apple and Austin are in business together for the company's new Texas campus, following a vote from the local court.

The Austin-based Statesman newspaper reports that the Travis County Commissioners Court today voted 4-1 in favor of a deal that will give Apple $5.4 million to $6.4 million in tax rebates over the next 15 years as the company constructs a campus that will bring some 3,600 jobs to the area.

The decision comes days after a local official said a deal was "in peril." Concerns were raised about the contract, which remained under … Read more

Apple responds to tax criticism by highlighting job creation

Apple responded today to criticism that the company goes to great lengths to cut its global tax bill by billions of dollars every year, trumpeting the "incredible number of jobs" it has created.

The statement was in response to an in-depth report published yesterday by The New York Times that depicted Apple as a pioneer in developing ways to sidestep taxes and that claimed companies seeking to do the same have used its methods as templates. "Apple serves as a window on how technology giants have taken advantage of tax codes written for an industrial age and … Read more

The Times takes on Apple again, with report on taxes

The New York Times is once again putting Apple under the microscope, with a new, in-depth report about the tactics the company uses to cut its global tax bill by billions of dollars every year.

"Almost every major corporation tries to minimize its taxes, of course," the report says. Nevertheless, "Apple serves as a window on how technology giants have taken advantage of tax codes written for an industrial age and ill-suited to today's digital economy."

The report claims Apple has been a pioneer in developing ways to sidestep taxes and that companies seeking to … Read more

Amazon settles with Texas over sales tax

Amazon has reached another settlement over state taxes, this time with Texas.

Reuters reports that the giant e-tailer will start collecting sales tax in Texas come July 1, as part of a settlement that requires Amazon to bring 2,500 jobs and $200 million in capital investment to the state over the next four years.

In exchange for the jobs and money, Texas State Comptroller Susan Combs is dropping the state's demand for $269 million to cover sales taxes from 2005 to 2009, Reuters reports.

Amazon struck a deal with the state of Nevada earlier in the week whereby … Read more

New York accuses Sprint of tax fraud in $300M lawsuit

Sprint Nextel: tax dodger?

That's according to New York Attorney General Eric Schniederman, who filed a lawsuit against Sprint for allegedly failing to collect and pay sales tax to the state. Schniederman claimed Sprint missed out on $100 million in taxes and he's seeking $300 million in penalty.

It's a blow to Sprint as the carrier looks to get back on its feet financially. The company continues to lose money and is undertaking several costly projects, including the massive upgrade of its wireless network, as well as the hefty subsidies paid to Apple to carry the iPhone. … Read more

White House Web page shows you where your tax dollars go

Wondering what Uncle Sam does with your hard-earned tax dollars? The White House's Taxpayer Receipt page has been updated for 2011 to help answer that question.

To get started you'll need to enter the social security tax, medicare tax, and income tax that you paid for 2011. If that information isn't handy, you can estimate by choosing from a range of households and incomes, such as single with no children, married with one child, or married with two children.

In return, the site displays how much you doled out in tax dollars to the Fed for last … Read more

Politicians, retailers push for new Internet sales taxes

If you think you paid the government enough in taxes this year, think again. An alliance of state and federal politicians, with the assistance of deep-pocketed big-box retailers, is hoping to lighten your wallet by levying new Internet sales taxes.

Their plan: to convince the U.S. Congress to approve a law that would allow states to force Amazon.com, Overstock.com, Blue Nile, and other online-only retailers to collect sales taxes from out-of-state customers.

So far, they've had little success. But a state government budget shortfall estimated to total around $50 billion next fiscal year, coupled with accelerated … Read more

Brazilian city names street 'Steve Jobs Avenue'

The small Brazilian city of Jundiai is one step ahead of Cupertino in paying tribute to Apple's late co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs. Jundiai's city council officially announced that one of its street is being renamed "Steve Jobs Avenue," according to Cult of Mac.

The avenue is the route that connects the small city to Brazil's largest city -- Sao Paulo. It also houses the proposed new address for Taiwanese-owned Foxconn's new iPad manufacturing factory. Nearby Sao Paulo is where Foxconn just opened a facility to produce iPhones.

Jundiai's city council presented the … Read more

Americans turned to tax sites in droves in February

The U.S. tax season still has a few more days to go before it's over (for punctual filers anyway), but it appears many Americans have already done most of the work needed to file their personal financials.

Research firm Nielsen today released its findings on tax-related-site usage during the busy season. Not surprisingly, given past history, February was the most active site among Americans, with one-quarter of all U.S.-based Web users heading over to tax-related sites. All told, the 53 million Americans who went to tax sites in February viewed more than 1.4 billion pages.… Read more