Apple and Amazon have no idea what's coming
Skittish tech investors have been desperately looking for concrete answers on just how much US President Donald Trump's tariffs are going to cost them. Apple and Amazon just gave them the corporate equivalent of a giant shrug.
Presenting March quarter earnings on Thursday night, Apple boss Tim Cook tried his best to play down the pain. 'Assuming the current global tariff rates, policies and applications do not change for the balance of the [June] quarter, and no new tariffs are added, we make the impact to add $US900 million ($1.4 billion) to our costs,' he told investors.

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Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
G7 agrees to avoid higher taxes for US, UK companies
The United States and the Group of Seven countries have agreed to support a proposal that would exempt US companies from some components of an existing global agreement, the G7 says. The group has created a "side-by-side" system in response to the US administration agreeing to scrap the Section 899 retaliatory tax proposal from President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill, it said in a statement from Canada, the head of the rolling G7 presidency. The G7 said the plan recognises existing US minimum tax laws and aims to bring more stability to the international tax system. United Kingdom businesses are also spared higher taxes after the removal of Section 899 from Trump's tax and spending bill. The UK government said businesses would benefit from greater certainty and stability following the agreement. Some UK businesses had in recent weeks said they were worried about paying substantial additional tax due to the inclusion of Section 899, which has now been removed. "Today's agreement provides much-needed certainty and stability for those businesses after they had raised their concerns," finance minister Rachel Reeves said in a statement, adding that more work was need to tackle aggressive tax planning and avoidance. G7 officials said that they look forward to discussing a solution that is "acceptable and implementable to all". In January, through an executive order, Trump declared that the global corporate minimum tax deal was not applicable in the US, effectively pulling out of the landmark 2021 arrangement negotiated by the administration of his predecessor Joe Biden with nearly 140 countries. He had also vowed to impose a retaliatory tax against countries that impose taxes on US firms under the 2021 global tax agreement. This tax was considered detrimental to many foreign companies operating in the US.

News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Trump warns against ‘ultimate betrayal' as voting begins to pass his megabill
US President Donald Trump has warned Senate Republicans that refusing to support his 'big beautiful bill' would represent the 'ultimate betrayal'. 'With its passage, Americans will keep more of their hard-earned money while taking home much bigger paychecks,' according to a White House statement obtained by NewsNation on Saturday local time. 'Failure to pass this bill would be the ultimate betrayal.' The warning shot was fired as Senate members later Saturday prepared to take a procedural vote to kick off debate on the revised, 940-page multi trillion-dollar bill that makes Mr Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent, ends taxation on tips and overtime, boosts border security funding and scraps green-energy tax credits passed during the Biden administration. The megabill is expected to raise the debt ceiling by roughly $5 trillion in order to cram all the provisions in. It could be a make or break moment for the Republican Party – which has invested much of its political capital on Mr Trump's signature domestic policy plan. At its core, the legislation would make permanent many of the tax breaks from Mr Trump's first term that would otherwise expire by year's end if Congress fails to act, resulting in a potential tax increase on Americans. The bill would add new breaks, including no taxes on tips, and commit $350 billion to national security, including for Mr Trump's mass deportation agenda. The Senate will work through the weekend to try and pass Mr Trump's bill by his July 4 deadline. With a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber, the GOP can only afford to lose three votes and still pass the package with a tie-breaking ballot cast by Vice President JD Vance, The NY Post reports. A version of it passed the House by a single vote May 22. But the lower chamber will have to vote on the bill again after the Senate finalises its changes to it. Senator Thom Tillis, R-N. C., said he is concerned about the fundamentals of the package and will not support the procedural motion to begin debate. 'I'm voting no on the motion to proceed,' he said. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Republicans are rushing to finish the bill before the public fully knows what's in it. 'There's no good reason for Republicans to chase a silly deadline,' he added. Mr Trump had been hoping the bill would pass both chambers and reach his desk for signing by July 4. 'The Great Republicans in the U.S. Senate are working all weekend to finish our 'ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,'' the president posted on his Truth Social on Friday.


SBS Australia
18 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Midday News Bulletin 28 June 2025
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