Taxes may be the worst way to recycle money but in the absence of anything else it's a really good way. Apple's revenue far outweigh its costs. They have one of the largest cash reserves of any corporation in the world.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/22/investing/apple-stock-cash-e... http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2014/04/13/fun-numbe...