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Comment by willtim | Hacker News Reader

Apple already have the largest margins in the industry. They are sitting on a 245 billion dollar cash pile. They have so much cash they literally don't know what to do with it. Meanwhile, infrastructure and public services in both our countries are failing. But I guess voters, like you, "are sick of hearing about it", which explains a lot.

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I'm from the UK as it happens but I am sick of hearing about it, yes!

It's not Apple's fault that your infrastructure is failing.

So the US government spending nearly $1 Trillion annually on the military is worth every penny I assume. Imagine your military budget was halved. What could you do with an extra $500 Billion a year?

The fact that the US government spends nearly $700 Billion annually on Medicare and your health system is utterly broken doesn't bother you.

Or that your government bailed out the banks to the tune of around $16 TRILLION doesn't piss you off.

Or that your debt pile is so big your grandchildren are already in debt before they are born!

But Apple and it's profits does?

I am not American, but if I was, much of the above would also upset me. But you are invoking a straw man, my point was that Apple should pay more tax (especially to Europe), not solve all the worlds problems. I get that you don't care.

Apologies for assuming you were from the US but I hear this from Americans quite a lot about their tech giants.

I wasn't trying to create a strawman but I stand by my argument as counter to yours.

Tax isn't a moral issue. It's a financial one.

Also, it's not that I don't care but I stand by my assessment: If you increase Apple's costs, the consumers will pay it. You are basically taxing the consumers.

It makes no sense to have corporation tax.

Edit: changed my argument a bit.

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