Apple’s 22-Year Tax Break Part of Billions in California Bounty (1)

Apple Inc. was on the brink of bankruptcy in 1997 when it cut a deal with the city of Cupertino, California.

In exchange for keeping its headquarters in the Silicon Valley city, Apple would get half of Cupertino’s share of sales tax revenue generated by the company’s sales to businesses in California for at least five years.

Apple is now the world’s most valuable company— and, after several extensions of its deal, it’s still getting sales-tax rebates, according to a city official. How much Apple now gets each year, and has gotten over the past 22 years, is kept confidential. ...