> the decision/cost to bring the money 'into the US' depends on a variety of factors
No it doesn't. Apple has been lobbying aggressively for years, including during most of the Obama Administration, to change the backwards US global tax policy (the US being one of the few countries to utilize such an approach) and or to arrange a one-time repatriation holiday. They finally got what they wanted and they're repatriating the money immediately thereafter.
It depended on one thing: getting a low enough rate to make bringing the cash home modestly punishing. Apple was always clear about that, Tim Cook spelled it out in numerous interviews over several years.
Sure, and the issue wasn't whether it would happen, it was what the money would be used for. Republicans and Democrats wanted different things. The tax policy was going to change. It was just a matter of what we did with it. In this case, it was used to pay for lower taxes for corporations.
No it doesn't. Apple has been lobbying aggressively for years, including during most of the Obama Administration, to change the backwards US global tax policy (the US being one of the few countries to utilize such an approach) and or to arrange a one-time repatriation holiday. They finally got what they wanted and they're repatriating the money immediately thereafter.
It depended on one thing: getting a low enough rate to make bringing the cash home modestly punishing. Apple was always clear about that, Tim Cook spelled it out in numerous interviews over several years.