Politics & Government

Ellison: 'Taxes are the Dues We Pay to Live in a Civilized Society'

The 5th District congressman condemned Apple's tax-avoidance strategies.

Rep. Keith Ellison criticized Apple’s tax-avoidance policies in the wake CEO Tim Cook’s testimony before a Senate subcommittee last week.

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a report concluding that Apple avoids billions in taxes by shifting profits to foreign affiliates. But in a May 21 hearing, Cook countered that: "We pay all the taxes we owe — every single dollar. We don't depend on tax gimmicks."

Ellison didn’t buy it, though. He went on MSNBC’s The Ed Show on Saturday to condemn Apple’s policies.

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“Taxes are not a punishment. Taxes are the dues we pay to live in a civilized society,” the 5th District congressman said, adding later, “Apple wouldn’t be a multi-billion dollar corporation but for the fact that the United States of America made it possible for them to be that successful. It seems to me they ought to want to help to pay they expenses of this country so that everybody can have a fair shot.”

 

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Student Loans

In a Saturday Star Tribune op-ed, Ellison slammed a proposal by Minnesota Republican Rep. John Kline to replace the current fixed student loan interest rate of 3.4 percent with a rate that could go up to 10.5 percent.

Ellison argued that the bill would make it harder on students who are already struggling to pay off student loans—and that it would limit social mobility:

When higher education is less accessible, we all pay the price. Nothing grows the gap between rich and poor more than relegating higher education to only those who can afford it. In an era when an increasing share of the nation’s wealth is already going to the richest 0.1 percent of Americans, we owe it to our students to make college more affordable. When workers are still paying thousands in student loans each year, they are unable to spend that money on a home or elsewhere in the economy. According to the Center for American Progress, 2 million more adults between 18 and 34 still live with their parents than did before the recession.

 

Memorial Day

Ellison released the following Memorial Day statement:

On Memorial Day, all Americans pause to recognize the extraordinary sacrifice of our women and men in uniform, but for our military families every single day is Memorial Day. The feelings of a safe homecoming or a heartbreaking loss never fade for the loved ones of our soldiers.

That’s why the work of organizations like the Minnesota Council for Veterans, which helps homeless veterans find affordable housing, and others like it are so important. We must maintain our strong commitment to care for the men and women of the Armed Services. Unfortunately, they are coming home to dramatically reduced services because of budget uncertainty in Washington.

The men and women who serve our country deserve access to the services they need, but across-the-board budget cuts known as the sequester are making that more difficult. In many communities around the country, veterans are too far from a VA hospital or center to get the assistance they need. Public services they need, like housing and job assistance, are being reduced due to budget cuts. As many as 90,000 active duty service members and veterans won’t receive critical employment assistance, and 33,000 veterans will be not be served by the Jobs for Veterans program because of budget cuts. Our soldiers deserve better.

On this Memorial Day, let’s honor those who we’ve lost and thank those who continue to serve.


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