Tech

Tim Cook tells Cramer: New tax law helped pave the way for Apple’s massive investment plan

Key Points
  • The new tax law helped paved the way for much of Apple's plan to contribute $350 billion to the U.S. economy, Apple CEO Tim Cook tells Cramer.
  • After the tax bill's passage, Cook believes there's plenty of money to go around, according to Cramer.
Jim Cramer explains why Apple's investment is a new 'Marshall Plan'
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Jim Cramer explains why Apple's investment is a new 'Marshall Plan'

The new tax law helped paved the way for much of Apple's plan to contribute $350 billion to the U.S. economy, Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC's Jim Cramer.

"While some of these efforts were indeed in the works, Washington enabled most of this job-creating plan to occur by changing the tax code to allow companies to return capital to all stakeholders," Cook told Cramer in a call on Wednesday, shortly after the tech giant announced plans to repatriate billions in overseas cash.

Cramer noted that Cook has been pushing for reforms like this for some time. Reflecting on Cook's comments, Cramer said Thursday that he felt the Apple CEO was reaffirming "the idea that this is a new regime, and certainly there's lots of money to go around."

"It's good for the country," Cramer added.

Cramer also explained Apple's thought process in giving out bonuses of $2,500 in restricted stock to most employees. Restricted stock units are valued in company stock, but vest over time.

"Tim told me about that," said Cramer. "He said, 'Look the people very much want to participate in the upside of the company and this is a longer-term way than a one-time cash bonus.'"

The investment "is bigger than the Marshall Plan," said Cramer, whose charitable trust owns shares of Apple.

Cramer was referencing a 1948 initiative named for then-Secretary of State George Marshall in which the Truman administration devoted billions to rebuild Western Europe after World War II.

A lot of what Apple wants to do is "redo the country," Cramer said. "They want to teach people code. ... They are very big thinking."

— CNBC's Anita Balakrishnan and Elizabeth Gurdus contributed to this report.