Today's Senate hearings add momentum to Apple's shift from being celebrated for inspired design and technology innovations to being celebrated for inspired tax-avoidance schemes.
The hundred billion plus Apple has parked in Ireland aren't causing CEO Tim Cook to lose any sleep. "We pay all the taxes we owe, every single dollar," claims Cook. "We not only comply with the laws, we comply with the spirit of the laws."
He's absolutely right of course. He is acknowledging that the "spirit" of America's tax code is to facilitate tax avoidance by wealthy individuals and corporations. That's the same spirit Mitt Romney was saluting when he admitted to keeping most of his fortune in offshore tax-shelters.
Tax law isn't intended to tax the rich; it's intended to let them off the hook.
And apparently it has proven remarkably successful in achieving that goal.
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