Only a small fraction of the parts in an iPhone come from America -- the majority come from Taiwan, Japan, China and 3 other countries. So yes, China probably gets more of the entire manufacturing cost of the iPhone than the US does. But not by much. The US, of course, should be able to book that sweet sweet margin of profit that Apple enjoys. (Or should the Bermuda tax haven Apple presumably employs book the profit?)
> for every dollar you spend on an iPhone, about two pennies go to the factories in China that assembled it. The vast majority of that revenue comes right back to the United States
If you're in the US and you buy an iPhone, the money does not sit in a foreign "tax-exempt" bank account.
Of course. Totally makes sense that the U.S. is protecting China allowing apple to sell the phones made in China and then sold in China. Oh wait, the U.S. Military isn't protecting China?
Every first world country has court systems, copyright laws, and many of them are more respected than we are. Samsung likely benefits as much as apple does for any of these things and yet they don't pay US taxes on sales in China. They only pay US taxes on sales in the U.S.
>The well-choreographed customs routine is part of a hidden bounty of perks, tax breaks and subsidies in China that supports the world’s biggest iPhone factory, according to confidential government records reviewed by The New York Times, as well as more than 100 interviews with factory workers, logistics handlers, truck drivers, tax specialists and current and former Apple executives. The package of sweeteners and incentives, worth billions of dollars, is central to the production of the iPhone...
So, Apple's high profits depend on a whole lot of government subsidies in China. And then Apple takes that cash and protects it from US tax rates by storing it in Ireland. And now, some interesting questions are raised about the legality of that tax scheme.
Maybe the US doesn't need more businesses like Apple.
Not necessarily - it would likely just be passed along to the consumer, so that iPhones in America would cost double what they do in China. There are more consumers in China than in America, so if Apple's forced to choose between manufacturing in America and getting taxed for every unit they sell in China vs. manufacturing in China and getting taxed for every unit they sell in America, they'd pick the latter. American iPhone buyers tend to be relatively price-insensitive anyway.
I didn't even recalled they wanted to make iPhones here, but this article [1] basically says that "its more expensive than building them in China" and that some tax incentive laws were being disputed by the World Trade Orgnization.
You buy an iPhone in France, tax doesn't go to fund the French people, it goes into an offshore. You tell them to stop it, they find another loophole, even more protracted. That's quite upsetting.
So, Apple exploits both China and Europe to make a buck.
Most of the IP/software and profit in an iPhone comes from and goes to a US company. Most of the components in an iPhone aren’t from China (nor the USA). Yes, it is assembled in China, but it isn’t accurate to say it is a Chinese product.
Yeah, I've had friends who buy iphones in the US and take it back home to china for relatives, because it's cheaper abroad..... How does that work, exactly? Is it because of some sort of luxury tax in China?
I'm not unaware that iPhones are physically constructed in China. If we had tariffs on Chinese phones only a small portion of the tariff would fall on the overall cost of an iPhone.
No, that means apple which is a US company tucks its tail between its legs and starts making iPhones in the US for US/europe customers and wherever else it wants if it wants to compete outside of the US. Apple specifically makes most of its iphone profits from the US and it is a mainline product for a trillion dollar company that is taking money out of the US consumer into Chinese economy so it isn't bullshit at all.
iPhones are expensive in China, mainly due to taxes. Many people buy iOS devices for themselves and for friends when they visit Hong Kong or the USA. HK is better, as there is no sales tax.
iPhones are made in Chinese special export zones (SEZ) that lack taxes on imported raw components and factory machinery. The flip side is that anything made in an SEZ must be “imported” back into China since the inputs themselves were technically not imported.
There certainly are. Iphones smuggled into mainland form Hong Kong are sold at a premium. Whatever the reasons for that are among the conditions that Apple must have conceded to to sell legally in the mainland.
reply