3 ms·

"And yet the UK press and politicians, yesterday and today, have been up in arms that Google’s theoretical UK tax bill could have built hospitals and purchased

by hussong 17y ago

"And yet the UK press and politicians, yesterday and today, have been up in arms that Google’s theoretical UK tax bill could have built hospitals and purchased helicopters for troops in Afganistan." Theoretically, they could. But in the current economic situation they would more likely be spent on cash infusions or EU transfer payments to keep the Irish economy from collapsing. So, in the end, it doesn't make that much of a difference.

anigbrowl 17y ago
In some respects, the Irish economy is collapsing anyway. It would arguably be worse without the presence of multinationals attracted by the low corporation tax, but the sad fact is that having a multinational in your country doesn't necessarily mean all the best jobs they have to offer are going to be available to the workforce. In some cases they'll just up and go somewhere else when it becomes more economically attractive, as Dell did. Being Irish myself, I have very mixed feelings about the country's corporate tax policy. It looked terribly smart a few years ago, but so did a lot of other fiscal and economic policies that seem pretty foolish in hindsight. The low-tax regime has come at the expense of higher and higher rates of personal income tax coupled with crippling unemployment.
- gaius 17y ago
  This is why Ireland has always voted against EU expansion. It doesn't want to see all the money go to Eastern Europe. It's funny, driving around Western Ireland, say Dingle, there are immaculate roads with EU flags on the signposts, then the money runs out and it's abruptly back to the crumbling ashphalt there was before (which is normal considering how sparsely populated and lightly traficked the area is... It just doesn't make economic sense to plough a lot of money into the roads there).

3 ms·

"And yet the UK press and politicians, yesterday and today, have been up in arms that Google’s theoretical UK tax bill could have built hospitals and purchased

by hussong 17y ago

anigbrowl 17y ago
In some respects, the Irish economy is collapsing anyway. It would arguably be worse without the presence of multinationals attracted by the low corporation tax, but the sad fact is that having a multinational in your country doesn't necessarily mean all the best jobs they have to offer are going to be available to the workforce. In some cases they'll just up and go somewhere else when it becomes more economically attractive, as Dell did. Being Irish myself, I have very mixed feelings about the country's corporate tax policy. It looked terribly smart a few years ago, but so did a lot of other fiscal and economic policies that seem pretty foolish in hindsight. The low-tax regime has come at the expense of higher and higher rates of personal income tax coupled with crippling unemployment.
- gaius 17y ago
  This is why Ireland has always voted against EU expansion. It doesn't want to see all the money go to Eastern Europe. It's funny, driving around Western Ireland, say Dingle, there are immaculate roads with EU flags on the signposts, then the money runs out and it's abruptly back to the crumbling ashphalt there was before (which is normal considering how sparsely populated and lightly traficked the area is... It just doesn't make economic sense to plough a lot of money into the roads there).