The mayor of Cupertino, Barry Chang, seems not pleased with Apple, as he thinks the iPhone maker should pay the city more taxes.
In an interview with The Guardian, Chang argued that the Cupertino-based firm is not contributing enough taxes to improve the infrastructure in the city.
"[A]pple is not willing to pay a dime," said the Cupertino mayor. "They're making profit, and they should share the responsibility for our city, but they won't."
Chang currently faces a slew of issues as a mayor of the city, including traffic congestion and lack of funding for public projects. Some citizens in Cupertino are convinced that putting an end to some developments in the city could eliminate the problem about congestion on the roads, train system, and parking. Chang, however, thinks that this move could hugely affect the regional economy. Rather, he proposes that imposing higher taxes on big firms in the city, like Apple, is the solution to these problems.
Chang told The Guardian he lately proposed that Apple should give the city $100 million to enhance the infrastructure in Cupertino. However, he failed to get even a single "yes" vote from the three council members.
The mayor then went on to say that these council members don't want to offend Apple, which is undoubtedly among the biggest companies headquartered in the city.
"Apple talks to them, and they won't vote against Apple," he said. "This is the fact."
Chang added that at one council meeting, a few of the local citizens protested due to lack of funding for projects. The residents even crumpled up meeting agenda papers and threw them.
"They abuse us," he said, referring to how Apple is conducting its business in the city.
A report from Fortune, however, says that Apple reiterated that it is, in fact, the biggest taxpayer in the city, adding the company is paying millions of dollars to the city every year.
For Chang, Apple is creating problems in the city, so he thinks the company should help the government resolve these issues which are affecting residents of Cupertino.
In the meantime, the Apple Campus 2, otherwise known as Spaceship, is currently in the works in Cupertino. The campus will house 12,000 employees and will cover 2.8 million square feet of office space in the area. It is expected to open in 2017. Apart from building sidewalk and street improvements, it is also putting up a soundwall in an aim to reduce noise along the northern part of Interstate 280.
