How much tax did Steve Jobs pay? How much does Apple pay?

[KamaAina]

While Silicon Valley mourns the loss of its ur-CEO, California is about to cut the hours of seniors and disabled people who receive In-Home Supportive Services by 20 percent. Yet for some reason, the fact that Jobs switched out his Mercedes every six months so he wouldn't have to get license plates was bigger news.

If we could just figure out a way to make the ultra-rich (like Jobs) and giant corporations like Apple pay their fair share, without provoking kamikaze opposition from the repukes, we could again be the Golden State.

[dkf]

1. He had a $1 salary from Apple.

Most of his income came from Disney shares.

[KamaAina]

3. He was worth $7 billion.

The income from the Disney stock should be taxable, too.

[dkf]

5. Yes he was, but you don't incur capital gains until you sell stock.

You can have a net worth that grows and grows and grows, but no taxable event unless you sell or get dividend income.

Same for real estate.

[DLnyc]

6. Maybe there should be a wealth tax.

[L. Coyote]

9. Property and sales taxes bear on wealth differentially

Real dodges to change are lowered capital gains taxation and the inheritance taxes. Where wealth accumulation finally met the tax man has been seriously whittled down.

[zbdent]

8. wouldn't that place him on the welfare rolls?

I know that some Repug appointee of Kasich's is getting a $1 a year salary ... and I realized that a salary that low would qualify him for welfare and put him at "poverty level" ... and, knowing the hypocrites that Repugs are, he'd take all the benefits it would give him.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. That's the reason for OWS. Thank goodness OWS exists and is growing! nt

[rfranklin]

4. California's problems go all the way back to Proposition 13..

Proposition 13 (officially named the People's Initiative to Limit Property Taxation) was an amendment of the Constitution of California enacted during 1978, by means of the initiative process. It was approved by California voters on June 6, 1978. It was declared constitutional by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Nordlinger v. Hahn, 505 U.S. 1 (1992). Proposition 13 is embodied in Article 13A of the Constitution of the State of California.<1>

The most significant portion of the act is the first paragraph, which limited the tax rate for real estate:


Section 1. (a) The maximum amount of any ad valorem tax on real property shall not exceed one percent (1%) of the full cash value of such property. The one percent (1%) tax to be collected by the counties and apportioned according to law to the districts within the counties...

In the 2003 California recall election in which Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor, his advisor Warren Buffett suggested that Proposition 13 be repealed or changed as a method of balancing the state's budget<39>. Schwarzenegger, believing that such an act would be inadvisable politically and could end his gubernatorial career, said, "I told Warren that if he mentions Proposition 13 again he has to do 500 sit-ups."<40>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_13_(1978)

[Angry Dragon]

7. Read an article the other day on AOL

huffingtonpost
state that Apple had $80.6 billion in cash and over 60% of that was overseas
and they wanted to bring it back with a 'tax holiday'
that is a lot of money
think of that the next time they come out with their phones at $400 a pop