6 ms·

Shameful. Just shameful. I don't care how it gets sugar coated, if you claim to be working for the good of humanity (in facebooks case by connecting people toge

by snorrah 11y ago

Shameful. Just shameful. I don't care how it gets sugar coated, if you claim to be working for the good of humanity (in facebooks case by connecting people together) and then you loophole yourself out of paying taxes, you are morally bankrupt.

ams6110 11y ago
If the tax law allows it, they have no reason to pay more than they do. To do so would be not in the interests of their owners/shareholders. If you have a problem with tax "loopholes" then fix the tax law. Don't blame a business for paying only the tax it is legally obligated to pay. Would YOU pay more taxes than you have to?
- DanBC 11y ago
  >Would YOU pay more taxes than you have to? Most people pay more tax than they need to because they don't have access to devious accountants who create excessive tax-avoidance schemes. Most of these schemes are neither normal tax planning nor a bit of tax avoidance. They are aggressive tax avoidance that exploit the regulations in weird ways. They're legal, but only because the regulations were malformed (and will get re-made) or because the schemes haven't been tested in courts. And the way UK tax authorities work is rightly to use courts as a measure of last resort, preferring negotiation instead.
- throwaway2048 11y ago
  guess who lobbies the government for these type of loopholes to begin with?
Cakez0r 11y ago
I wouldn't be so quick to condemn them. If you were running a business that had earned millions in profit for the financial year and were faced with the option of A) distributing it all out to your employees in the form of bonuses (which, of course, would be taxed) or putting all the profit in the bank and paying a huge tax bill, which would you pick? This seems like a good example of wealth trickling down to me, but it's painted as tax evasion.
refurb 11y ago
Why do people get mad at the company for not paying more in taxes? I presume they are following the law and paying what is required? Why not get mad at the politicians who created the tax code?
- 1stop 11y ago
  ... Is this like a "Why do people get mad you have to sit at the back of the bus, it is the law after all?" kind of argument?
  - refurb 11y ago
    I take it you're equating tax optimization with denying someone their civil rights?
    - Marazan 11y ago
      No, what they are doing is pointing out that just because something is legal does not make it moral.
      - refurb 11y ago
        Moral to who? Are you suggesting we legislate morality? I'd prefer not to go down that path (again).
        Marazan 11y ago
        We legislate morality all the time. Would you at least agree with the statement that "Not all legal actions are moral and not all moral actions are legal"?
        refurb 11y ago
        I prefer to avoid morality since it's too subjective. Morally I believe a business should only pay it's required taxes. Obviously you disagree.

by snorrah 11y ago

ams6110 11y ago

If the tax law allows it, they have no reason to pay more than they do. To do so would be not in the interests of their owners/shareholders. If you have a problem with tax "loopholes" then fix the tax law. Don't blame a business for paying only the tax it is legally obligated to pay. Would YOU pay more taxes than you have to?

DanBC 11y ago
>Would YOU pay more taxes than you have to? Most people pay more tax than they need to because they don't have access to devious accountants who create excessive tax-avoidance schemes. Most of these schemes are neither normal tax planning nor a bit of tax avoidance. They are aggressive tax avoidance that exploit the regulations in weird ways. They're legal, but only because the regulations were malformed (and will get re-made) or because the schemes haven't been tested in courts. And the way UK tax authorities work is rightly to use courts as a measure of last resort, preferring negotiation instead.
throwaway2048 11y ago
guess who lobbies the government for these type of loopholes to begin with?

Cakez0r 11y ago

I wouldn't be so quick to condemn them. If you were running a business that had earned millions in profit for the financial year and were faced with the option of A) distributing it all out to your employees in the form of bonuses (which, of course, would be taxed) or putting all the profit in the bank and paying a huge tax bill, which would you pick? This seems like a good example of wealth trickling down to me, but it's painted as tax evasion.

refurb 11y ago

Why do people get mad at the company for not paying more in taxes? I presume they are following the law and paying what is required? Why not get mad at the politicians who created the tax code?

1stop 11y ago
... Is this like a "Why do people get mad you have to sit at the back of the bus, it is the law after all?" kind of argument?
- refurb 11y ago
  I take it you're equating tax optimization with denying someone their civil rights?
  - Marazan 11y ago
    No, what they are doing is pointing out that just because something is legal does not make it moral.
    - refurb 11y ago
      Moral to who? Are you suggesting we legislate morality? I'd prefer not to go down that path (again).
      - Marazan 11y ago
        We legislate morality all the time. Would you at least agree with the statement that "Not all legal actions are moral and not all moral actions are legal"?
        refurb 11y ago
        I prefer to avoid morality since it's too subjective. Morally I believe a business should only pay it's required taxes. Obviously you disagree.