4 ms·

Let's talk about 'stupid' again once US tech giants start paying appropriate taxes on their profits generated in Europe without siphoning them off.

muricafirst 8y ago
how about correcting the tax laws then, this is a bad way to try and get the money from them...
- laumars 8y ago
  This isn't a revenue generating scheme. This is a fine for bad business practices. This might shock you, but not every country in the world believes companies should have free reign to do whatever the fuck they like. It's not like deregulation is a requirement for capitalism. The real problem here is the minority of Americans who live with their heads firmly up their own arses and don't have any concept of the wider world - of which America is literally only one entity amongst a great many of others. You assume that everyone is envious (which, by the way, is the correct term. "Jealousy" - as you described it in one of your other comments - doesn't refer to possessions) of America when in actual fact we just want American businesses to play by the same rules as European businesses do when those companies do business in Europe. You're not being singled out because we have the same expectation for companies of all nationalities; regardless of the continent they reside. It just so happens that American businesses are some of the worst offenders (possibly due to your culture of anything goes in business?). However as you have also pointed out, European companies do also get penalised when they break the rules too. So you aren't a special case. But honestly, given the stunts Boeing pulls, your various business lobby groups that affect overseas legislation (eg the breast milk vs formula was), the recent changes to trade relations Trump has made, and all the other numerous indiscretions America make to put their own industries first; you are hardly in the position to take the moral high ground when it comes to international business relations.
  - fwdpropaganda 8y ago
    If I may quote myself from 12 days ago https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17470247 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17470247 > It's not just the administration. Every time the EU has levied fines against Google a lot of Americans on HN claim that the EU is doing it because they're jealous of how successful American businesses are.

muricafirst 8y ago

how about correcting the tax laws then, this is a bad way to try and get the money from them...

laumars 8y ago
This isn't a revenue generating scheme. This is a fine for bad business practices. This might shock you, but not every country in the world believes companies should have free reign to do whatever the fuck they like. It's not like deregulation is a requirement for capitalism. The real problem here is the minority of Americans who live with their heads firmly up their own arses and don't have any concept of the wider world - of which America is literally only one entity amongst a great many of others. You assume that everyone is envious (which, by the way, is the correct term. "Jealousy" - as you described it in one of your other comments - doesn't refer to possessions) of America when in actual fact we just want American businesses to play by the same rules as European businesses do when those companies do business in Europe. You're not being singled out because we have the same expectation for companies of all nationalities; regardless of the continent they reside. It just so happens that American businesses are some of the worst offenders (possibly due to your culture of anything goes in business?). However as you have also pointed out, European companies do also get penalised when they break the rules too. So you aren't a special case. But honestly, given the stunts Boeing pulls, your various business lobby groups that affect overseas legislation (eg the breast milk vs formula was), the recent changes to trade relations Trump has made, and all the other numerous indiscretions America make to put their own industries first; you are hardly in the position to take the moral high ground when it comes to international business relations.
- fwdpropaganda 8y ago
  If I may quote myself from 12 days ago https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17470247 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17470247 > It's not just the administration. Every time the EU has levied fines against Google a lot of Americans on HN claim that the EU is doing it because they're jealous of how successful American businesses are.