One chart that says a lot

While Apple's profits have soared, their aggressive tax avoidance strategies have sharply limited a corresponding increase in the taxes they pay:

According to the New York Times, those strategies include channeling most of their profits through small subsidiaries in places like Reno, Nevada (to avoid paying California taxes) and Luxembourg (to avoid federal taxes).

Legal? Yes. But one more example of how the rich and powerful have lobbied to create a system that they can artfully game to avoid paying their fair share.