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Page 14
Jîortlanh (Obstruer
July 10, 2013
New Prices
Effective
May 1,2010
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG
$45.00
A sm all distance/travel charge
m ay be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or
more $30.00 Each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: 1 small Hallway)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$40.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
(Hallway Extra)
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
O ther Services)’. $25.00
Area/Oriental Rugs:
$25.00Minimum
Area/Oriental Rugs (Wooly.
$40.00Minimum
Heavily Soiled Area:
Additional $10.00 each area
(Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying)
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $69.00
Loveseat: $49.00
Sectional: $ 109 - $ 139
Chair or Recliner:
$25 - $49
tli9
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services). $5.00
ADDITIONAL
SERVICES
• Area & Oriental Rug
Cleaning
• Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning
• Deodorizing & Pet
Odor Treatment
• Spot & Stain
Removal Service
• Scotchguard Protection
• Minor Water Damage
Services
SEE CURRENT FLYER
FOR ADDITIONAL
PRICES & SERVICES
Call for Appointment
(503) 281-3949
The Tradeoff between Apple and Apples
Turning tax
avoidance into
an art form
by
S cott K linger
In M ay, A m ericans
w atched as A pple C h ief
E xecutive O fficer T im
C o o k d e f e n d e d h is
c o m p an y ’s tax avoidance strategies
b efo re a S enate investigative panel.
P rio r to the hearing, Senate investi­
gators released a report d o cu m en t­
ing A p p le ’s use o f accounting gim ­
m icks to shift $74 billion o f profits to
Ireland o v er the last fo u r years.
During their testim ony, C ook and
his colleagues acknow ledged that
70 percent o f the c o m p an y ’s global
profits found their w ay to one p ar­
ticu lar Irish subsidiary, w hich the
A pple gang described as having
“no tax resid en ce.” P ressed further,
they adm itted a second subsidiary,
w hich houses alm ost $ 30 billion o f
global profits, h a d n ’t filed a tax re ­
turn o r paid taxes in any nation.
H ours later and steps aw ay, the
S enate voted to stick w ith a plan to
cut $4 billion in funding from the
food stam p program (know n on
C apitol Hill as SN A P ) ou t o f the
Farm Bill. T he H ouse version w ould
slice even d eeper — a $20.5 billion
cut.
W h a t’s going o n? A pples are
being snatched from the tables o f
m illions o f hungry people in A m erica
so that com panies like A pple
can continue to legally m ove
th eir U .S. p rofits o ffsh o re to
avoid paying taxes.
T h e re ’s a lot at stake fo r the
m ost vulnerable am ong us. M ore
than 70 p ercent o f fam ilies re ­
ceiving food stam ps have a child,
elderly person, o r d isab led p erson
in their household. O n average, food
stam ps provide a $4.45 subsidy per
day to help struggling fam ilies w ith
their food bills.
Senators w ho argued at the A pple
hearing that its shareholders w ill
benefit are correct: A pples w ill be
shifted from those w ho have none
to those w hose fruit cellars are full.
There ’ d be no need for our elected
leaders to trim o u r safety net if o u r
ric h e st c o rp o ra tio n s d id n ’t tu rn
avoiding their fair share o f taxes into
an art form . If A pple h ad paid U .S.
taxes on the $ 74 billion o f profits it
shifted offshore, the T reasury w ould
have taken in up to $25 billion m ore
rev en u e.
O ne co m p an y alone could offset
all o f the food-stam p cuts adopted
by the Senate. W ith $21 billion left
over, w e could hire back a q u arter o f
the 300,000 teachers w ho have been
laid o ff o v er the sam e four years that
A pple has been shifting its U .S.
profits to Ireland.
A pple is, o f co u rse, one o f m any
c o m p an ies th at h av e tu rn e d the
co rp o rate tax code into a gam e —
one w ith serious co n seq u en ces for
those w ho rely m ost on g o v ern m en t
services. T he volum e o f cash c o r­
porations stash o ffshore ballo o n ed
to $ 1.9 trillion last year.
T h e sto c k m a rk e t c o n tin u e s to
set n ew re c o rd s. C o rp o ra te p ro f­
its are h ittin g le v e ls n e v e r b e fo re
see n , th e p ro d u c tiv ity o f A m e ri­
c an w o rk e rs re m a in s th e e n v y o f
th e w o rld , an d U .S . C E O s re m a in
th e h i g h e s t - p a i d o n E a r t h .
G ra n te d , u sin g th e fe a r o f b e in g
u n c o m p e titiv e m a y b e a c o m p e l­
lin g ta lk in g p o in t, y e t th e re ’s little
e v id e n c e th a t i t ’s tru e .
C o rp o ra te o ffsh o re ta x -h a v en
T h e re a l ris k o f lo sin g o u r c o m ­
ab u se co sts th e U .S. T reasu ry $ 100 p e titiv e e d g e c o m e s fro m c ru m ­
b illion annually. C losing co rp o rate b lin g i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , s tu d e n ts
offsh o re tax lo opholes w ould allow g ra d u a tin g fro m sc h o o ls u n p re ­
us to fix all o f the n a tio n ’s 50 ,0 0 0 p a re d fo r 2 1 s t-c e n tu ry jo b s o r
a n tiq u a te d b rid g e s (th e F e d e ra l s a d d le d w ith d e b t, a n d p o o rly
H ig h w ay A d m in istratio n estim ates re g u la te d b a n k s w h o se e x c e s siv e
that this w ould cost $76 b illion), risk -ta k in g h as led, tim e and ag ain,
rehire the 3 0 0,000 schoolteachers to c o stly lo s se s b o rn e b y all m e m ­
laid o ff since 2008, and still have b e rs o f so c ie ty .
m o ney left o v er to begin shoring up
W e c an c o n tin u e to s h o w e r the
the Social S ecu rity system .
p o w erfu l w ith b a rre ls o f tax b reak s
C o m p an ies like A pple com plain a n d cu t sp e n d in g th a t m a k es life
ab o u t h o w th e U .S. tax sy stem fo r th e le a s t p o w e rfu l a m o n g us
threatens th eir global co m p etitiv e­ m o re b e a ra b le . O r, w e c an c h a n g e
ness. T h ey like to point out that o ur th e ru le s an d in sist th a t c o m p a ­
nation has an official tax rate o f 35 n ies like A p p le h elp p a y fo r a p p les
percent, the h ig h est am ong d e v el­ to feed h u n g ry k id s an d a w h o le
oped econom ies. B ut they n ev er lo t m o re.
seem to m ention that last y ear c o r­
Scott Klinger, an Institute for
porations paid an average effective Policy Studies associate fellow, is
tax rate o f ju s t 12.1 p e rc en t— one o f the co-author o f the new IPS report
the low est rates am ong d eveloped "Corporate Pirates o f the Carib­
nations, according to the C o n g res­ bean: Pro-Austerity CEOs Seek to
sional B udget O ffice.
Widen Tax Haven Loophole."