Apple's decision to bring Mac production back to America is a big move for the company, and it turns out the Made-in-the-USA Mac is going to be assembled in the equally big state of Texas.
"We're investing $100 million to build a Mac product line here in the U.S.," Cook said in testimony before a U.S. Senate panel this week.
"The product will be assembled in Texas, include components made in Illinois and Florida, and rely on equipment produced in Kentucky and Michigan."
The Cupertino company is spreading the production of the Made-in-America Mac line throughout the U.S. after years of assembling its computers overseas in China.
Apple a minimalist on taxes, too
While Tim Cook is in favor of pouring $100 million into Mac production in the U.S., his company is still holding an estimated $102 billion of its $145 billion in cash overseas in an effort to avoid taxes.
Apple uses tax loopholes because it would have to pay a U.S. corporate tax rate of 35 percent to repatriate its overseas cash, even though it has already paid taxes on its foreign earnings to other governments.
Cook, who said Apple is one of the biggest corporate income tax payers as it is, is in favor of eliminating tax expenditures, simplifying the U.S. tax system and setting up a reasonable corporate tax rate.
This, according to his testimony, would allow Apple to use its overseas money to invest in the U.S. and would be great for the economy.
'Think Different' used against Apple
Cook's desire to bring Apple's overseas money back to a tax-reformed U.S. was ignored by some Senators who dwelled on the loopholes instead of the reasons for the loopholes.
"Apple is one of the great tax avoiders in U.S. history," said Senator John McCain (R-AZ), who used the company's late 90s slogan against it.
"Apple has given new meaning to the company's old slogan, 'Think Different,'" he quipped.
Thinking different than the senior Senator was Rand Paul (R-KY), who said he was "offended by the tenor of this meeting."
"Tell me a chief financial officer you would hire if he didn't try to minimize his taxes legally," asked Paul.
American as apple pie
Apple has chosen to do what is best for its shareholders by keeping its foreign earnings away from the higher U.S. corporate tax rate, but Cook doesn't see the company moving any time soon.
"We're an American company. And we're proud to be an American company," he said in response to a question from Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) about further saving money by moving.
"We're [in California] because we love it there," he said. "I'm saying it's who we are as people."
"It's beyond my imagination [to move], and I have a pretty wild imagination."
- Apple could finally announce which Mac line is being built in America at WWDC . Read more WWDC 2013 predictions before next month's event.
Via Fox News
