Fruity outfit Apple has decided that its massive profits should not go to help the US better itself in any way.

Apparently Jobs' Mob is running tax scam to avoid billions of corporate tax by having a small office in Nevada.  Such a deal is so dodgy that even the New York Times, which normally acts as Apple's spokesman is outraged. It showed a snap of the tiny office in Reno which it points out does nothing and yet seems to have the job of collecting and invest the company’s profits. California’s corporate tax rate is 8.84 percent. Nevada’s is zero.

Apple has also created subsidiaries in low-tax places like Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the British Virgin Islands to help cut the taxes it pays around the world. This means that while Apple could earn up to $45.6 billion in its current fiscal year it will all go into a big cash pile and will not help America's cash strapped social services. Meanwhile California faces a budget crisis, with a shortfall of more than $9.2 billion in the coming fiscal year alone.  Rather than tax Jobs Mob the state has cut some health care programs, significantly raised tuition at state universities, cut services to the disabled and proposed a $4.8 billion reduction in spending on kindergarten and other grades.

Apple told the New York Times off the record that it was unfair to criticize the company for reducing its tax bill when thousands of other companies acted similarly. If Apple volunteered to pay more in taxes, it would put itself at a competitive disadvantage, they argued, and do a disservice to its shareholders.

More here.