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Comment by andrewstuart | Hacker News Reader

The best thing about Apple's outrageous 30% cut is it's some of the biggest companies in the world and Apple smashing each other to bits.

In this society, big companies usually get all the breaks and the little guys get nothing, so it's nice to see the big guys forced to brawl.

Governments, for example, folded many years ago and stopped taxing big companies 30% and instead give them money. Apple isn't as easily bribed as politicians.

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But at the end of the day the 30% overhead goes to Apple. If there is some sub-market of apps where there is actual competition--where the companies making these apps are competing with each other and are driving their price lower--Apple's existence tacks on a 30% overhead to all of the competitors equally, meaning it is the user who loses out, not the companies.

When a government taxes you 30%, the money is supposed to go for services or capital improvement products that eventually indirectly help people. That isn't how Apple hoarding this cash works.

Devil's advocte: Apple pays for a lot of things that benefit the apps, like developing the chips the app runs on. This is similar to how a government can build roads that the businesses begin taxed can drive their trucks on et.c.

Customers still are the one paying those 30% cut. So it's not nice.

Are they? Monopolies don't set prices based on marginal costs but on maximizing profit. A 30% tax may very well come out of their profits as raising prices may reduce sales enough to reduce profits.

It is like Godzilla smashing up other monsters; yeah technically I know I shouldn’t be rooting for any of the monsters but it is kinda cool and also funny. Apple unleashing a giant anti-ad beam at Facebook is just great.

Coinbase, I dunno, they are some tiny nobodies right? Seems like punching down too much.

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