On Tuesday, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) launched into Senate Democrats for their show trial against Apple. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has called Apple CEO Tim Cook to testify about the company’s use of tax shelters offshore to avoid higher rates. The Subcommittee released a report Monday stating that Apple has avoided some $44 billion in taxes via its use of tax structures.
Paul used the opportunity to blast the Democrats for a witch hunt against a law-abiding company. “I frankly think the committee should apologize to Apple,” said Paul. “I’m offended by the spectacle of dragging in executives from an American company that is not doing anything illegal.”
Paul added that if the Senate doesn’t like the way the tax system works, it ought to look in the mirror: “Instead of Apple executives, we should have brought in here today a giant mirror.”
Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), who chairs the Subcommittee, fought back by accusing Apple of tax evasion: “Apple’s a great company, but no company – no company – should be able to determine how much it’s going to pay in taxes, how many profits they’re going to keep offshore, how they’re going to bring them back home, using all kinds of gimmicks to avoid paying the taxes to this country.”
No charges have been filed or suggested against Apple for its tax practices.
Ben Shapiro is Editor-At-Large of Breitbart News and author of the New York Times bestseller “Bullies: How the Left’s Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences America” (Threshold Editions, January 8, 2013).