If you’ve got $200, that’s all it takes:
US tech giant Apple became the first company to reach an historic $1 trillion in market capitalization recently, but it still doesn’t like paying more taxes, according to recent reports. Apple has been at odds with California’s Santa Clara County over the value of its property. As the local newspaper San Francisco Chronicle reports, Apple evaluates a cluster of properties around its brand-new Apple Park at just $200. Santa Clara County’s tax assessor says the properties are worth $1 billion.
In California, businesses and individuals pay a property tax. It is calculated according to the value of the land and the buildings on it. Since 2004, Apple has appealed tax assessments in Santa Clara County 489 times. In total, according to the newspaper’s report, the tech giant has disputed taxes on $8.5 billion in property value. Apple is the largest taxpayer in the county, paying $56 million in tax year 2017-18.
It’s a problem that is easily solved with a state law. If a publicly traded corporation values its property at a certain amount, then anyone can purchase it for three times that amount.
Apple really is an awful company.