Apple CEO Tim Cook says he wants comprehensive reform of the corporate tax code in the U.S., even if it means that the company would pay a little bit more in the process. Today in a keynote conversation at the D11 Conference, Cook talked about his testimony before Congress and his suggestions for dealing with certain tax issues.
Last week, Tim Cook testified in front of Congress over claims that the company had avoided $13.8 billion in taxes. (Also, why apps need to be updated so much.) Apple took that as an opportunity to propose changes to the tax code, changes that Cook believes are necessary.
Cook said that the company’s effective tax rate in the U.S. is 30.5 percent, and that it pays $6.5 billion — more than anyone else. More importantly, though, the tax return it files is huge — 2 feet tall, according to Cook. That’s because the code itself is more than 7,500 pages long and impossible to understand. As a result, Cook suggested it was time to gut the current tax code.
(Updating…)
