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While I have never looked deeply into the topic of big business corporate taxes, I do share a strong suspicion that the corporate tax system is flawed, and woul

While I have never looked deeply into the topic of big business corporate taxes, I do share a strong suspicion that the corporate tax system is flawed, and would be supportive of reform in the system. Including international cooperation for solving this. But the way they went about this is disappointing. There should be a way to solve this that would still allow countries to compete in attracting businesses. They talk as if they want everybody to settle for mediocrity. > Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen has warned that a global “race to the bottom” has been eating away at government revenues. This literally sounds like something a cartel would say.

andrepd 5y ago
"Medoicrity" is countries around the world losing hundreds of billions of dollars per year in tax evasion and capital flight. A "cartel" in this case, meaning a (democratic) agreement between major economic blocs to put a floor on corporate tax, and sanction those who violate this, is precisely what you need.
- throwawaysea 5y ago
  It isn't "countries around the world" that lose taxes and capital. It's a small number of very rich countries, mostly in the West, and primarily the US. This is simply a way for the US to retain economic power (and all the other powers that come from it) while cutting off competitive paths for other countries to compete and get rich. The reason this feels like a cartel is because the proposed policies amount to a joint collusive policy meant to reduce competition.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - TOSSAWAY_1 5y ago
    Exactly. These countries put forth policy they cannot afford and are out-competed via taxation. Allowing them to express force on smaller countries in an effort to reduce their profits seems mind blowingly aggressive. I guess its the kind of dumb policy we have to put up with until someone points out that those affected by this are likely 'minorities" in western societies and is therefore racist/bigoted. Its the only way to argue nowadays.
  - neither_color 5y ago
    It's similar to the clean energy debate. Rich countries telling developing countries that they cannot get rich the same way they did. It's more about securing their positions from competitors than actually helping the poor or whatever. Also, every country that agrees to this minimum tax loses a bit of sovereignty, because if a member state needs to for example lower their rate to 14% or 10% in the future for a very good reason, they can't.
zionic 5y ago
As a US taxpayer who sees the fraud, abuse, and general mismanagement of my tax money why would I willingly support the same government getting more? It is incredibly depressing how little I get from the government vs how much they take from me. The entire system is a sham and I honestly don't want to support it anymore. I'm working as hard as I can to try and escape it at the earliest possible moment.
- thebooktocome 5y ago
  Where are you immigrating to that doesn't "mismanage" tax revenue?
  - zionic 5y ago
    At this point mars is looking pretty comfy.
- jsnnxjsn 5y ago
  The US is actually not that bad. One thing I think many ppl who have not spent time in developing countries overlook is how much stuff just works in the US. Compared to most EU countries US taxes are much lower. People like to point to Singapore as low tax example, but the difference in scale is such that the comparison is not meaningful.
  - BitwiseFool 5y ago
    >"I think many ppl who have not spent time" Please just write out the word "people". You're already using full words and normal punctuation everywhere else.
- HWR_14 5y ago
  There is some fraud and abuse, of course. And the huge numbers involved mean that even a small percentage of fraud is a huge number. But there never seems to be any statistics that back up the assertion that government (in general) or the US government (in particular) produces outrageous amount of fraud or abuse.

andrepd 5y ago

"Medoicrity" is countries around the world losing hundreds of billions of dollars per year in tax evasion and capital flight. A "cartel" in this case, meaning a (democratic) agreement between major economic blocs to put a floor on corporate tax, and sanction those who violate this, is precisely what you need.

throwawaysea 5y ago
It isn't "countries around the world" that lose taxes and capital. It's a small number of very rich countries, mostly in the West, and primarily the US. This is simply a way for the US to retain economic power (and all the other powers that come from it) while cutting off competitive paths for other countries to compete and get rich. The reason this feels like a cartel is because the proposed policies amount to a joint collusive policy meant to reduce competition.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- TOSSAWAY_1 5y ago
  Exactly. These countries put forth policy they cannot afford and are out-competed via taxation. Allowing them to express force on smaller countries in an effort to reduce their profits seems mind blowingly aggressive. I guess its the kind of dumb policy we have to put up with until someone points out that those affected by this are likely 'minorities" in western societies and is therefore racist/bigoted. Its the only way to argue nowadays.
- neither_color 5y ago
  It's similar to the clean energy debate. Rich countries telling developing countries that they cannot get rich the same way they did. It's more about securing their positions from competitors than actually helping the poor or whatever. Also, every country that agrees to this minimum tax loses a bit of sovereignty, because if a member state needs to for example lower their rate to 14% or 10% in the future for a very good reason, they can't.

zionic 5y ago

As a US taxpayer who sees the fraud, abuse, and general mismanagement of my tax money why would I willingly support the same government getting more? It is incredibly depressing how little I get from the government vs how much they take from me. The entire system is a sham and I honestly don't want to support it anymore. I'm working as hard as I can to try and escape it at the earliest possible moment.

thebooktocome 5y ago
Where are you immigrating to that doesn't "mismanage" tax revenue?
- zionic 5y ago
  At this point mars is looking pretty comfy.
jsnnxjsn 5y ago
The US is actually not that bad. One thing I think many ppl who have not spent time in developing countries overlook is how much stuff just works in the US. Compared to most EU countries US taxes are much lower. People like to point to Singapore as low tax example, but the difference in scale is such that the comparison is not meaningful.
- BitwiseFool 5y ago
  >"I think many ppl who have not spent time" Please just write out the word "people". You're already using full words and normal punctuation everywhere else.
HWR_14 5y ago
There is some fraud and abuse, of course. And the huge numbers involved mean that even a small percentage of fraud is a huge number. But there never seems to be any statistics that back up the assertion that government (in general) or the US government (in particular) produces outrageous amount of fraud or abuse.