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Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

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Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

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Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers

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Microsoft reports are exposing AI's real cost problem: Using the tech is more expensive than paying human employees
Apple

Apple Has Appealed Its Taxes Nearly 500 Times Since 2004

By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
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By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
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August 13, 2018, 12:12 PM ET

Apple has been awfully active over the last decade trying to get its tax bill down.

In a deep dive into Apple’s tax-appeal cases since 2004, the San Francisco Chronicle found that the company has appealed tax assessments in Santa Clara County 489 times since 2004. In total, according to the report, Apple has disputed taxes on $8.5 billion in property value.

While Apple is not unique in disputing taxes, there are some cases of the company having real differences with tax authorities. In one example uncovered by the San Francisco Chronicle, Apple disputed a $1 billion tax assessed value on several buildings around its Apple Park headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. Apple said that the properties were actually worth $200. Apple used the same $200 assessed value on a property that the tax assessor valued at $384 million.

Disputing such a major tax bill could have a profoundly important impact on the company. Apple is the largest taxpayer in Santa Clara County and paid $56 million in taxes in the 2017-2018 tax year. Getting that down a bit only improves the company’s bottom line—even if the amount is immaterial to its broader performance.

But Apple isn’t alone in seeking some tax breaks. Genentech has appearled 653 tax assessments to the tune of $19 billion. Walgreens has disputed 60 assessments worth $2.2 billion.

Apple did not immediately respond to a Fortune request for comment on the report.

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