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Netflix hasn't, to my knowledge, even filed their 2018 annual yet (or their Q4 2018), so I'm not sure what they're even basing their numbers on. But they admit

Netflix hasn't, to my knowledge, even filed their 2018 annual yet (or their Q4 2018), so I'm not sure what they're even basing their numbers on. But they admit elsewhere that Netflix paid taxes most of the preceding years, averaging out around 13.5%. In the end their tax lawyers do exactly what tax lawyers do, and unless they're breaking the law so be it. As an aside, it's rich that it's always Americans complaining about companies paying low American taxes on billions that they make overseas. Netflix is more international than American now (2/3rds of their subscribers are not Americans), yet they are especially adept at avoiding taxes everywhere else. In the UK they have repeatedly paid $0 because they claim to be a Netherlands operation there, etc. In Canada every single competitor has to charge a sales tax of 13% (and consumers weigh the total cost, so if applied it would put downward pressure on Netflix's prices), but Netflix charges none. In any case, corporate tax rates are often much ado about nothing because in the end that money ends up in various other tax brackets. It becomes a capital gain, or a dividend, or some other form that often gets taxed at the personal level.

chosenbreed37 8y ago
> In any case, corporate tax rates are often much ado about nothing because in the end that money ends up in various other tax brackets. It becomes a capital gain, or a dividend, or some other form that often gets taxed at the personal level. Clearly corporate taxes are charged for a reason and presumably the additional revenue would be of benefit. However it seems to me that in our outrage we lose sight of the fact that the money doesn't disappear. If a company retains a greater portion of its revenue it has to do something with it. And as you say whether they payout dividends, hire more staff, expand their operations the at least some portion of the money comes back into the system. I guess the main difference is that the government doesn't get to decide how it is spent...
- zdragnar 8y ago
  > at least some portion of the money comes back into the system. Apple is a fairly decent point to the contrary; they were able to let money sit around doing absolutely nothing at all because they didn't want to touch it until they didn't face stiff repatriation taxes for doing so. Generally speaking, though, I agree with your later points. The first one- corporate taxes are charged for a reason- I'm less convinced that the reason is a good one. It mostly seems like a feel-good way to bury the tax so people don't realize that they're ultimately paying for it.
- akie 8y ago
  Trickle down economics eh? When did that ever work?
JdeBP 8y ago
Netflix unaudited numbers for the 12 months ending 2018-12-31 were published on the 17th of last month. 15.216M USD in income tax paid, if I am reading the statement correctly. Income before tax during that period is stated to be 1.226G USD. Income tax rebate of 73.608M USD in the 12 months ending 2017-12-31, for comparison.
- tc313 8y ago
  According to the supplemental items on the cash flow statement, Netflix technically paid $131 million in cash for income taxes during fiscal 2018. But it's true that it only owes $15 million for its operations during the year.
SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
> In Canada every single competitor has to charge a sales tax of 13% Just to clarify, there's no 13% sales tax - that'll be 5% federal and X% provincial (which ranges from 0-10%).
- dmix 8y ago
  It's a bit more complicated than that with harmonized sales tax in 5 of the provinces. So technically in those provinces (such as Ontario) it is indeed a single 13% sales tax and no longer a combination of federal/provincial. But largely in practice you're correct as even the combined HST varies (13% in Ontario, 15% in the four Atlantic coast provinces).

chosenbreed37 8y ago

> In any case, corporate tax rates are often much ado about nothing because in the end that money ends up in various other tax brackets. It becomes a capital gain, or a dividend, or some other form that often gets taxed at the personal level. Clearly corporate taxes are charged for a reason and presumably the additional revenue would be of benefit. However it seems to me that in our outrage we lose sight of the fact that the money doesn't disappear. If a company retains a greater portion of its revenue it has to do something with it. And as you say whether they payout dividends, hire more staff, expand their operations the at least some portion of the money comes back into the system. I guess the main difference is that the government doesn't get to decide how it is spent...

zdragnar 8y ago
> at least some portion of the money comes back into the system. Apple is a fairly decent point to the contrary; they were able to let money sit around doing absolutely nothing at all because they didn't want to touch it until they didn't face stiff repatriation taxes for doing so. Generally speaking, though, I agree with your later points. The first one- corporate taxes are charged for a reason- I'm less convinced that the reason is a good one. It mostly seems like a feel-good way to bury the tax so people don't realize that they're ultimately paying for it.
akie 8y ago
Trickle down economics eh? When did that ever work?

JdeBP 8y ago

Netflix unaudited numbers for the 12 months ending 2018-12-31 were published on the 17th of last month. 15.216M USD in income tax paid, if I am reading the statement correctly. Income before tax during that period is stated to be 1.226G USD. Income tax rebate of 73.608M USD in the 12 months ending 2017-12-31, for comparison.

tc313 8y ago
According to the supplemental items on the cash flow statement, Netflix technically paid $131 million in cash for income taxes during fiscal 2018. But it's true that it only owes $15 million for its operations during the year.

SketchySeaBeast 8y ago

> In Canada every single competitor has to charge a sales tax of 13% Just to clarify, there's no 13% sales tax - that'll be 5% federal and X% provincial (which ranges from 0-10%).

dmix 8y ago
It's a bit more complicated than that with harmonized sales tax in 5 of the provinces. So technically in those provinces (such as Ontario) it is indeed a single 13% sales tax and no longer a combination of federal/provincial. But largely in practice you're correct as even the combined HST varies (13% in Ontario, 15% in the four Atlantic coast provinces).