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It's completely within the right of Ireland and Irish citizens to promote investment by lowering the tax rates, as it is within the right of France and French c

by tomp 10y ago

It's completely within the right of Ireland and Irish citizens to promote investment by lowering the tax rates, as it is within the right of France and French citizens to tax companies that earn profits in France according to French tax law. I really don't see a problem.

stuaxo 10y ago
And yet Ireland has harsh austerity that has pushed many into poverty, so it wouldn't seem to be making much difference to citizens. http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/irelands-austerity-success-is-no-model-for-greece-340662.html http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/irelands-au...
- ptaipale 10y ago
  France doesn't have austerity... yet. But Ireland is already getting over it.
- soneil 10y ago
  I honestly think the two aren't linked. At least not as cause and effect, at least. Multinational investment drove the growth, but it was property madness that drove the bubble. So when the global economy faltered, there was a downturn in foreign investment - but it was the property bubble that burst. I can still say that almost everyone I know here works for a multinational. So while they seem to artificially expand GDP (a huge amount of our GDP isn't actually domestic, and doesn't benefit us the same way domestic product would) - for us little folk on the ground, they still mean a lot, lot more jobs than we'd have otherwise. How we actually domesticate this investment so it's not at risk of just flitting off to the next cheap destination, I have no idea. But I think that's the real long-term risk & challenge, not the stupid amounts of imaginary money people had pinned on the property bubble.
weberc2 10y ago
If the article is to be believed, the problem is that France is prosecuting law-abiding companies, presumably because they're doing business in rival nations.
- Xylakant 10y ago
  That's not what the text says. Googles spokesperson is quoted as saying they're complying with the law - but well, what is Googles spokesperson supposed to say? The whole paragraph starting with "accused of" is not about "legally being accused of breaking the law" but about the fact, that this (seemingly) legal tax structuring is under increased scrutiny. One part of that is testing if that's actually really legal because scholars can hold different opinions and it's never been tested in court, another part is changing the laws to make this actually illegal and close loopholes. This has been going on for a while in europe and it's not a problem, France or otherwise. The fact that Google did pay up in a similar UK case indicates to me that matters are not obviously and 100% legal.
  - pbhjpbhj 10y ago
    Didn't Google avoid the case in the UK by paying an amount of their own choosing? Basically giving them a headline that looked like they were being altruistic whilst still avoiding paying a 'proper' amount of tax? (I may have misremembered??)
  - weberc2 10y ago
    "Several have been accused of using legal methods to minimise their tax bills. In Google's case, its tax structure allows it to pay tax in the Republic of Ireland, even when sales appear to relate to the UK." I took this to mean Google was among the companies accused of using "legal methods". Am I misreading?

by tomp 10y ago

stuaxo 10y ago

And yet Ireland has harsh austerity that has pushed many into poverty, so it wouldn't seem to be making much difference to citizens. http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/irelands-austerity-success-is-no-model-for-greece-340662.html http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/irelands-au...

ptaipale 10y ago
France doesn't have austerity... yet. But Ireland is already getting over it.
soneil 10y ago
I honestly think the two aren't linked. At least not as cause and effect, at least. Multinational investment drove the growth, but it was property madness that drove the bubble. So when the global economy faltered, there was a downturn in foreign investment - but it was the property bubble that burst. I can still say that almost everyone I know here works for a multinational. So while they seem to artificially expand GDP (a huge amount of our GDP isn't actually domestic, and doesn't benefit us the same way domestic product would) - for us little folk on the ground, they still mean a lot, lot more jobs than we'd have otherwise. How we actually domesticate this investment so it's not at risk of just flitting off to the next cheap destination, I have no idea. But I think that's the real long-term risk & challenge, not the stupid amounts of imaginary money people had pinned on the property bubble.

weberc2 10y ago

If the article is to be believed, the problem is that France is prosecuting law-abiding companies, presumably because they're doing business in rival nations.

Xylakant 10y ago
That's not what the text says. Googles spokesperson is quoted as saying they're complying with the law - but well, what is Googles spokesperson supposed to say? The whole paragraph starting with "accused of" is not about "legally being accused of breaking the law" but about the fact, that this (seemingly) legal tax structuring is under increased scrutiny. One part of that is testing if that's actually really legal because scholars can hold different opinions and it's never been tested in court, another part is changing the laws to make this actually illegal and close loopholes. This has been going on for a while in europe and it's not a problem, France or otherwise. The fact that Google did pay up in a similar UK case indicates to me that matters are not obviously and 100% legal.
- pbhjpbhj 10y ago
  Didn't Google avoid the case in the UK by paying an amount of their own choosing? Basically giving them a headline that looked like they were being altruistic whilst still avoiding paying a 'proper' amount of tax? (I may have misremembered??)
- weberc2 10y ago
  "Several have been accused of using legal methods to minimise their tax bills. In Google's case, its tax structure allows it to pay tax in the Republic of Ireland, even when sales appear to relate to the UK." I took this to mean Google was among the companies accused of using "legal methods". Am I misreading?