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Once again journalists willfully misleading the public by ignoring the difference between tax credits and actual cash outlay. They must know the difference, but

• beejiu 8y ago
  But surely, in a 'closed system', they have to make up the difference between tax credits and actual cash outlay somewhere? Bargaining on tax seems inherently unfair, but inevitable when there is no harmonization between states. (This is one reason the European Union has laws on state aid.)
• emodendroket 8y ago
  There's not really much difference.
• Naritai 8y ago
  Of all the criticisms one can make of this article, this is one of the weakest. If I agree to a $10k pay cut from my employer, that's functionally equivalent to me giving my employer $10k. (and in the US at least, 'credits' are usually applied at the very end of the tax process, so have a real 1:1 value with dollars owed, as opposed to deductions which can have varying value)
  • mynegation 8y ago
    That would be true if in case you refuse the cut, you continue to be employed at the same salary. If the alternative is not to get anything (or severance), you would weigh it against future scenarios and calculate your scenarios based on some assumptions eg how many years you planned to stay employed and what is the expected time it will take you to find a new job and what are the costs of switching (house sale and moving costs) etc.
    • Naritai 8y ago
      Those are other criticisms of the analysis, not the simple fact that credits are worth 1:1 in real dollars, which is what the original poster was objecting to.