5 ms·
I think we can bitch all we like and nothing will happen. International taxation is complicated and part of a multinational's business model revolves around exp
by cjsuk 9y ago
I think we can bitch all we like and nothing will happen. International taxation is complicated and part of a multinational's business model revolves around exploiting that for shareholder gain.
What this points to is that we need a new global trade and taxation agreement for handling this. But the policy makers don't want that because they benefit from it.
Ergo, it'll always be like this.
At best you can add additional sales tax for non-resident companies at the point of sale to kill their bottom line. But no one will do that because the government will be the target of the abuse from the consumer.
- k__ 9y agoAlso, they make it sound like Cook could do anything. If he would, the shareholders would simply replace him.
- cjsuk 9y agoExactly.
- LiamMcCalloway 9y agoCountries can unilaterally have taxes based on the share of total company profit generated in the country, rather than just profit in the country.
- thomasahle 9y agoThat doesn't prevent companies from moving all profit generation out of all countries but the lowest taxed.
- Maarten88 9y agoGood luck Apple selling iPhones in Jersey. They'll need to sell everyone hundreds of iPhone X's there to keep profits up.
- blowski 9y agoPeople said the same about slavery. Change _is_ possible, but it requires a lot of patience.
- JorgeGT 9y agoProblem is, it was not a lot of patience what ended slavery in the US, it was a lot of violence.
- exDM69 9y agoAnd I'm afraid that it'll be a lot of violence ending tax evasion/optimization/avoidance too. The globalization game has winners and losers and it's starting to look like the losers outnumber the winners. I'd like to see something done to the global economy system with peaceful means before someone resorts to violence.
- WillReplyfFood 9y agoYour tone is very negative, but such is the subject you state the truth. There is no incentive to build a tax world government. There seems to be a similar arrangement in the makings when it comes to trade agreements. If the EU showed one thing, its that you cant form a multinational entity by unifying trade laws alone.
- dx034 9y agoThis is why the EU thinks about introducing a revenue based tax for tech companies. Cheating on profits is easy, cheating on revenues is close to impossible.