The fact that a lot of American technology corporations like Apple make use of legal loopholes in the society to achieve tax-avoidance has been revealed to the public. Although this behaviour made many activists and even the public indignant, Apple did its best to implement its business responsibilities, which is to maximize its profits. Different from business responsibilities, business ethics is a problem concerning the company’s morality and what Apple did was not ethical.
This task of avoiding millions of business tax through multiple procedures overseas demonstrated Apple’s lack of social responsibilities. According to the news article “Apple’s immoral tax-avoidance scheme is only one sign of a trouble company” by Eric Reguly, Ireland is told by the European Union to collect $19 billion back from Apple. Milton Friedman in “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits”, social responsibilities are to act in some way that is not in the interest of the stakeholders. To hold back from an increase in the price of product to prevent inflation is one example of social responsibility. Friedman stated that when a corporate executive is trying to refrain the rise of price, he is using someone else’s money to do so, and will consequently be fired. The stakeholders, on the contrary, can decide if they want to lessen the company’s profit in order to exercise the social responsibilities or not because they will be using their own money. In Apple’s case, the stakeholders and shareholders decided to not use their own money for the social responsibilities. Instead, they decided to make even more profit through dishonourable ways.
Although the action is neither illegal nor breaking any laws, it is unethical and broke the high expectations people had for these monopolistic companies while challenging the moral standards of this society. Reguly expressed his attitude toward this instance saying that “Apple’s Irish taxavoidance scheme, and chief executive Tim Cook’s defence of it, was not just baffling to me so much as immoral” Besides Reguly, many others in the society are also dissatisfied with the company’s immoral operation. As a result, Apple’s proceeds may then start to decrease due to the public’s disappointment.
Sources:
Friedman, Milton. “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits.” SpringerLink, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 1 Jan. 1970, link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-540-70818-6_14.
Reguly, Eric. “News from The Globe and Mail.” Apple’s Immoral Tax-Avoidance Scheme Is Only One Sign of a Troubled Company, Globe Investor, 3 Sept. 2016, www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/ArticleNews/story/GAM/20160903/RBRIREGULYCOLUMN.
Images:
Heffernan, Shayne. “Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Outlook.” Live Trading News, 23 Aug. 2017, www.livetradingnews.com/apple-inc-nasdaqaapl-trading-outlook-14-52629.html#.WbjMZdOGM6U.
“Short Speech on ‘Business Ethics.’” World’s Largest Collection of Essays! Published by Experts, 7 Aug. 2015, www.shareyouressays.com/116162/short-speech-on-business-ethics.
