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I don't think its that simple. If I've learned anything, criminal prosecution for financial crimes is pretty hard unless the crimes are pretty clear cut with co

by pm90 9y ago

I don't think its that simple. If I've learned anything, criminal prosecution for financial crimes is pretty hard unless the crimes are pretty clear cut with convincing evidence. Most of the time, its much better to settle out of court, or negotiate an agreement, avoiding all the unpleasantness of an investigation (a win-win for both).

maxxxxx 9y ago
But this works only if you can afford a lot of lawyers. Without that you don't get to negotiate much from my experience.
- CalChris 9y ago
  Being able to afford an army of lawyers is central to Double Irish With A Dutch Sandwich. Smaller companies then have to compete on even terms with companies which have the resources this tax avoidance allows.
  - rayiner 9y ago
    No, having business operations and assets that are international in scope is central to such strategies. You can’t shift profits around different jurisdictions if all your revenue and assets are in Oklahoma. It just happens to be correlated with being able to afford an army of lawyers.
    - duncanawoods 9y ago
      Hardly. The international operations are often faked to facilitate the dodge e.g. IP licensing of branding from Cayman Island entities.
- pm90 9y ago
  You don't need a lot of lawyers, but yeah I do see your point. Usually, if the nature of your crime is big enough to warrant the a federal/state prosecutors attention, you would most likely have the resources. If you're a 5 person company that accidentally committed a crime but they want to make an example out of you... yeah that can be tough.
- rayiner 9y ago
  There is a high correlation between being able to afford lots of lawyers and being accused of crimes that are tricky for the government to prove. The government doesn’t offer deals to white collar litigants because they’re afraid of the lawyers. They do so because prosecuting a guy accused of a white collar crime (which often comes down to doing something that would otherwise be legal, except with s particular state of mind) is much harder than prosecuting someone accused of having a kilo of meth stuffed under their seat when pulled over for running a light.

by pm90 9y ago

maxxxxx 9y ago

But this works only if you can afford a lot of lawyers. Without that you don't get to negotiate much from my experience.

CalChris 9y ago
Being able to afford an army of lawyers is central to Double Irish With A Dutch Sandwich. Smaller companies then have to compete on even terms with companies which have the resources this tax avoidance allows.
- rayiner 9y ago
  No, having business operations and assets that are international in scope is central to such strategies. You can’t shift profits around different jurisdictions if all your revenue and assets are in Oklahoma. It just happens to be correlated with being able to afford an army of lawyers.
  - duncanawoods 9y ago
    Hardly. The international operations are often faked to facilitate the dodge e.g. IP licensing of branding from Cayman Island entities.
pm90 9y ago
You don't need a lot of lawyers, but yeah I do see your point. Usually, if the nature of your crime is big enough to warrant the a federal/state prosecutors attention, you would most likely have the resources. If you're a 5 person company that accidentally committed a crime but they want to make an example out of you... yeah that can be tough.
rayiner 9y ago
There is a high correlation between being able to afford lots of lawyers and being accused of crimes that are tricky for the government to prove. The government doesn’t offer deals to white collar litigants because they’re afraid of the lawyers. They do so because prosecuting a guy accused of a white collar crime (which often comes down to doing something that would otherwise be legal, except with s particular state of mind) is much harder than prosecuting someone accused of having a kilo of meth stuffed under their seat when pulled over for running a light.