Apple's Cook

Tim Cook testified before Congress today to explain Apple's aggressive use of the 'opportunities' created by inconsistencies between different countries' tax codes to avoid paying US federal taxes. Much as Mitt Romney did before the election, he claimed that it would be irresponsible for Apple not to exploit them. But he also maintained that Apple "liked simple" which these arrangement were patently not, and that it hadn't contravened either the letter of the law (quite probably true) nor the spirit of the law (a patently absurd claim, since this implies that Congress intended for tax law to afford corporations the opportunity to pay less federal income tax). 

Of course, it is conceivable that the lobbyists and the proposers of tax legislation did indeed intend for the tax code to leave more money in corporate coffers while appearing, for the purposes of public relations, to do the opposite.