austriacus

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austriacus
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  • US lawmakers not impressed with Apple App Store changes, pressing on with bill

    austriacusaustriacus
    longpath said:
    urahara said:
    I am starting to believe that in the most cases the government only makes the situation worse. This is one of those situations. With “twin monopolies” - LOL, they have even coined a new term just to make their absurd case which hurts free market.
    The US House of Representatives has a lower level of individual representation of its alleged constituents than any other comparable body in any other industrialized democracy, whether direct or limited, and has been so since 1929. This is nothing more than asserting power in order to grow power. By definition, a twin anything is not a monopoly. This isn’t the first time politicians have fabricated terms in order to frighten the ignorant and justify their violation of the takings clause. It won’t be the last.

    I agree that politicians say (often) stupid things but at least in this case I can see whee they are coming from. A monopoly is the exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service. Otherwise, it is an oligopoly. However, with Apple versus Google or iOS versus Android you really have two distinct markets which are each controlled by one player. So the term Twin Monopolies is not so stupid in my opinion.
    IreneWelijahgpscooter63

  • India urges Apple, others to embed government-funded biometric ID technology into smartphones

    austriacusaustriacus
    securtis said:
    If China asks manufacturers for something similar I bet Apple would bend.

    The times where login biometrics are stored in a govt repository are surely coming. Requiring identification techniques like this would help defeat fraud and also help tracking of terrorists (they often hand off phones to one another to deceive govt snoopers tracking them). As Europe descends into a pseudo police state I'm sure they would like to have something like this. 
    Trolling around again? Please do tell us what Snowden told us about the NSA? Or how people get shot by the police for little to no reasons... Europe has its problems but we are trying to deal with terrorists while still trying to stay compassionate to refugees. With regards to refugees your policies/interventions in the middle east have been a big part of the reason that there are so many refugees. Maybe we should send them all on to your shores so you can deal with the mess you helped create.
    zimmermannhydrogenanton zuykovronntundraboymagman1979

  • Apple CEO Tim Cook calls EU tax ruling 'total political crap,' cites potential anti-US sentiment

    austriacusaustriacus
    jameskatt2 said:
    This ludicrous politically motivated and invasive ruling is why Brexit no longer has any opposition in Great Britain.  Ireland and the rest of Great Britain need to declare their sovereignty and independence from the socialist agenda of the rest of the European Union.  

    Next thing you know, the European commission will want Apple to subsidize Greece and Spain.

    The Department of Justice should punish Europe for this misadventure by prosecuting Volkswagen more aggressively - to the tune of a $75 BILLION fine.  Currently they are handing Volkswagen with kid gloves. But with this turn of events, this should greenlight a big stick punishment that would push Volkswagen to bankruptcy. Take that Europe.
    Volkswagen already had a big fine that was much more then any US company would have ever paid - how much did GM have to pay when they covered something up that actually killed a hundred people or so (ignition switch I think) - so talk about politically motivated. Same with fines for European banks which had to pay and no recourse. Americans always think that there are special rules only for them. If you want to read a balanced discussion of the tax issue than read: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/01/business/yesterday-outraged-by-apples-tax-dodge-today-by-its-tax-bill.html
    rune66cnocbuibig brother 84sensironn

  • References to iPad mini in tvOS 17.2 beta revive 'HomePod with display' rumors

    austriacusaustriacus
    I really hope that the person creating the picture with the mini iPad stuck to the front of the homepod did it for space reasons rather then believing it would be done that way --> blocking soundwaves leaving the homepod from the front....
    watto_cobramike1williamlondon

  • Thailand proposes new tax on digital goods sold by foreign companies

    austriacusaustriacus
    sflocal said:
    AppleInsider said:


    "Anyone who makes money from Thai people should pay taxes to the country," Thanawat Malabuppha, president of the Thai e-Commerce Association, told Reuters.
    I just believe in equal treatment.  If they're going to tax us for commerce with their people, we should do the same.  The U.S. does a lot of business with Vietnam, and I'm sure they would change their tune if we instated the same increase in kind.
    It is totally up to you to for instance charge a value added tax for any sales in your country. If the company has a subsidiary in the US that sells something I assume that they are also subject to federal and/or state taxes. The issue here is that firms that provide digital services or so called platforms often dont have a local foot print or are very adept at shifting profits around (a) arbitrarily asigning IP to the country with the lowest taxes/regulations and then charging high fees to the higher tax countries b) playing around with raw material prices that get shipped around the world so that a low tax country can be assigned one step in the process and then claim the profits there) There are so many ways that governments can never keep up with the loop-holes (or are lobbied which I call payed off not to do it).
    In the end the only way to do something about it is to introduce taxes like this. There have been talks about world wide regulations going on for many years but the US has been slow walking it at the behest of companies like Google, FB, Apple and many others.
    avon b7GeorgeBMac

  • Apple's appeal against $14.4B EU & Ireland tax payment is this week

    austriacusaustriacus
    sacto joe said:
    nubus said:
    It is surprising that Tim Cook and C-level management at Apple are so much out of tune with ethics and politics outside US. Last week Google paid $1.1bn to France in taxes and fines. Apple paid less than competitors which is anti-competitive and against the core design of EU = not going to be tolerated at all.

    The EU commission is elected by 27 governments. If you go against the commission... well... then you mess with the governments of 27 nations. And they just agreed to ask the competition commissioner of the last 5 years to continue. It is totally unheard of, but she now has 5 more years in the job! Not only that. She got promoted to executive vice-president of the EU Commission with the added responsibility of... everything digital. Why is it that Tim Cook does his outmost to stay on her bad side? In local TV she ridiculed him for being half her height - shown with a hand gesture (sorry... no link but it was rather rude). Unlike Trump the lady is not for turning. With Apple having a focus on privacy she could be the best thing that happened to Apple. Instead she is the worst.

    Just pay the taxes and spend the same amount on wind farms from and in her home country with some words about the importance of contributing locally. And then start talking privacy... she could completely disrupt the business model of Google, Facebook etc.
    Balderdash. A US corporation that sells products in another country is taxed in that country on the product it sells in that country. Same with other countries selling products to the US. Foreign corporations, otoh, just like US corporations, are taxed in the country of corporate ownership.

    The $14.4 B in this case amounts to a power grab on potential US tax income. It will either revert to Ireland’s government or the US government. It is essentially the EU saying that Apple holding it’s corporate cash in Ireland means Apple should pay a corporate tax there.

    It beggars belief that posters here can know so little and yet post so authoritatively.
    I would say it (to use your wording) beggars believe that you do not try to understand the real issue. While it is true that corporate tax is on the product sold in a specific country it is irrelevant here. As you should know Ireland was being used to channel the profits of most European countries through an (illegal) tax haven called Ireland. So the argument you are making is not applicable. I would venure a guess that they also make creative use of IP transfer to reduce their profits in high tax countries. As to the often used argument that this is retroactively and unfair - a multi billion dollar company should have attorneys/tax accountants that are smart enough to know that what Ireland offered was not legal. They decided to take the risk and see if it works out. In the end this is (while morally repugnant) smart corporate behavior. They did not even get a fine - just have to pay back what they own. Imagine what would happen if you and I would do our taxes that way...
    hydrogen

  • China looks into sudden iPhone 6 & 6s shutdowns plaguing some Apple customers

    austriacusaustriacus
    sog35 said:
    steverob said:
    Just to keep the conversation on topic  

    My iPhone 6s has been shutting down with 50% battery - it suddenly goes to zero and won't restart. After about 20 minutes it will restart and carry on as normal.  It only seems to happen when I am outside in lower temperatures, so I don't think it's restricted to China -I am in the uk - nor does it seem to be a political stance against Mr Trump!
    GET. A. NEW. BATTERY. Batteries don't last forever.

    Maybe it shutting down as a safety feature so it doesn't explode.
    In my case it had nothing to do with the battery. I went to the Genius bar and they tested the phone and said the battery was fine. They asked if i had already tried a restore without putting the backup back on (which I had) after that they admitted it was a known issue - has something to do with some electronics connected to the battery.
    justadcomics

  • Turkey's deputy PM encourages Apple to move in wake of EU tax ruling

    austriacusaustriacus
    SpamSandwich said:
    I say Apple should tell the EU they'll be relocating to Britain now that they're out and Apple should simply refuse to pay that extortionate and fraudulent bill. 
    They can relocate and refuse but then they won't be able to sell in the EU...

  • Irish lawmakers gearing up for $14.5B Apple tax bill appeal amidst industry concern

    austriacusaustriacus
    teaearlegreyhot said:
    The EU is contending that Apple and Ireland colluded to form an illegal partnership, against EU tax law.  So why is Ireland not being penalized as well? Why just Apple?
    Because usually the party that did not pay the taxes is the one that has the issues. Also, as far as I know Apple is (not yet) being penalized. The amount mentioned is the amount they should have payed more. So there is no financial penalty (as of yet)

  • Apple FAQ responds to investor queries about $14.5B EU tax edict

    austriacusaustriacus
    To add some facts to the general slamming of the so called extortion racket. Don't get me wrong - I love Apple products but they have been skirting their responsibilities for a long time like many other multi nationals. I don't like taxes either (I live in France....) but at a certain point we have to say its enough when corporations pay next to nothing for Billions in profits. Have a look at what happend in Ireland: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Irish_arrangement
    jume