Apple made secret 5-year $275B deal with Chinese government

Apple Insider ^ | December 7, 2021 | Malcolm Owen

[Swordmaker]

Your response is a strawman?

The responses at the link do a better job than you.

No, my responses are factual, not strawman responses. They are logical conclusions based on financial quarterly and yearly reports issued by Apple to the Federal Government, IRS, and regulators who oversee stock trading. Anyone who can read a financial statement would come to the same conclusion… I am economist with a minor in finance. You simply cannot HIDE $275 billion in “secret” spending as these bozos are claiming in a publicly traded corporation. It doesn’t happen; it can’t happen. I did not bother to read the linked responses. Your response to me is just blowing smoke trying to denigrate my commentary. The entire article has no factual basis in reality; it’s FUD.

[Swordmaker]

The responses at the link do a better job than you.

Ok, I just read the “response at the link” and found nothing substantive. I found ZIP from any of them who bothered to go find data to backup the premise of the article at all from publicly available documents like I did (I found diddly and squat showing anything in the article was at all close to reality!). Instead I found an echo chamber of like-minded people accepting the article’s claims as the word of God when nothing could be closer to the truth. It’s FUD with no base in reality.

At best, it may be a formal agreement to continue to assemble some Apple products in China (however, that would be a public document), but the evidence of the past five years shows THAT is not happening as Apple moved iPhone, iPad, and even Mac computer manufacturing to other countries where costs are lower. So much for that theory.

Nowhere in the public financial reports is there any expenditures unaccounted for totaling $275 billion except for the Apple Common Share Stock buyback program, which just so happens to almost exactly total that amount during that same period and is completely documented, matching stock purchases on the open stock exchange. So much for that.

An AUDITED public corporation (audited every year) cannot HIDE such “secret” amounts of expenditures. It is NOT POSSIBLE, ifinnigan.

[jacquej]

Thanks, Swiordmaker. I heard about this on a conservative radio station this morning and felt sad, a bit betrayed.

Keep us posted on the truth about this. Who did Apple refuse to pay off? Or do I need more tin foil?

[SunkenCiv]

Yup.

[ifinnegan]

“Nowhere in the public financial reports is there any expenditures unaccounted for totaling $275 “

That’s the strawman.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

How much is Apple even worth? Even to a big company like them, $275B isn’t just a drop in the bucket.

[ptsal]

I suppose the SDNY has detailed a crack team of lawyers and accountants to determine if any corporate regulations, laws, or financial reports have been potentially violated. /s

pithy comments:::
===https://archive.md/PEmvj
https://forums.appleinsider.com/discussion/225345#first-reply

[dennisw]

No crappy Apple for me. My computers are Windows 10-11 and my phone is an up to date Samsung running Android 11 (A51)

[Swordmaker]

How much is Apple even worth? Even to a big company like them, $275B isn’t just a drop in the bucket.

Apple’s Market Cap is currently $2.572 Trillion. It is the most valuable company in the world with Microsoft trailing slightly behind. So that $275 Billion is about 10% of Apple’s net worth.

[Swordmaker]

That’s the strawman.

No, that’s a FACT… and if you cannot see the difference, you do not understand reality. This article is FUD!

[Liz]

Apple...a trillion dollar company.... was also chastised for keeping assets outside the US.

Apple is a publicly traded corporation w/ its books AND ITS ANNUAL REPORT legally required to show all entries for income and expenses.

There are no entries for a five year $275 billion “slush fund” program being spent in Asia, much less in China.

Contact enforcement@SEC.gov

Chairman and Commissioners
Chair Gary Gensler 202-551-2100 Chair@sec.gov
Allison Herren Lee (202) 551-2800 CommissionerLee@sec.gov
Hester M. Peirce (202) 551-5080 CommissionerPeirce@sec.gov
Elad L. Roisman (202) 551-2700 CommissionerRoisman@sec.gov
Caroline A. Crenshaw (202) 551-5070 CommissionerCrenshaw@sec.gov

SEC Headquarters
100 F Street, NE
Washington, DC 20549

[dalight]

This is a bizarre story as it recollects a deal that has come and gone. And, during this time and going forward Apple has been pulling its feet out of China and for that matter TSMC is moving operations to the United States in case Tiawan is overrun.

Frankly, considering all.. Apple has been making mostly good moves compared to Google and company.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Thanks.

[Swordmaker]

Apple...a trillion dollar company.... was also chastised for keeping assets outside the US.

Apple repatriated those assets being held off shore when Trump and the Republicans revised the tax codes to prevent double taxation of already taxed income being brought into the US in 2017 and lowered the corporate income taxes. Apple was doing nothing different than all other multinational corporations. In fact, Apple had already paid income taxes in the US on all funds held off shore, and was in fact, the largest single corporate Income Tax payer for several years prior to the Democrats raising that chastisement with many claiming Apple paid zero US Income Tax, contrary to facts released by both Apple, the SEC, and the IRS.

[Liz]

All that is true......my point is Apple keeping assets outside the US smells of Enron type hanky panky w/ a bit of s twist.

Apple was dam glad to repatriate and pay up......since they escaped scrutiny for the dirty work already done.

[ifinnegan]

Have you read the article in The Information?

[ProgressingAmerica]

"there is Linux, but likely you need to know Unix commands and so forth."

You do not need to know Unix commands to run Linux. Please stop spreading 1980's propaganda.

"Standing on principles to the extent of crippling yourself is never a good idea."

Donations to China disguised as purchases of Apple products is never a good idea. Donations to the DNC disguised as purchases of Apple products is never a good idea either.

https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/apple-inc/recipients?id=D000021754

Only, you know, 82.59% of the money went to progressive causes. I guess that's not so bad!

[ProgressingAmerica]

"The entire article has no factual basis in reality; it’s FUD."

What is Apple Insider's long history of anti-Apple bias? Or, Malcolm Owen? Or both?

[PIF]

there is Linux, but likely you need to know Unix commands and so forth.

—
You do not need to know Unix commands to run Linux. Please stop spreading 1980’s propaganda.

—
Did you miss the phrase “likely to know.” Likely is not an absolute. Knowing Unix : It never was propaganda, not now, not in the 80s.

Early versions of the better distributions required knowing Unix as there was no or only a limited user interface, other than direct input to achieve a task.

Apple OSX runs in a Unix Shell, and ***sometimes*** knowing a few commands is helpful in certain situations, to fix or repair things that go awry.

[ProgressingAmerica]

This is a much different presentation than previous. With this:

"As for operating system, there is MacOS, but likely you need to know Unix commands and so forth. Plus there is malware out there for it."

I would be excoriated for such sloppy penmanship by Mac users who would have quite a valid point. You do not need to know Unix commands to run MacOS.

And your guilty conscience over the left wing donations is noted by your silence.