14 ms·

what is the true underlying cause?

tonyedgecombe 5y ago
Corporation tax. They should just dump it and tax dividends and capitals gains like any other income. It's easy to shift corporation tax but much harder to shift an individuals income.
- permo-w 5y ago
  This sounds like a good idea for the current, somewhat dystopian world we're living in, but have you ever thought about whether huge corporations are even a net positive in the first place? I think that even if taxing corporations doesn't make sense in terms of tax revenue, it makes sense in terms of stopping companies from growing too large Imo corp tax should be nil until you get to about 1m profit, and then brutally progressive after that. Small businesses are great, and companies that benefit the consumer by being large can be public-owned and both compete internally and internationally.
  - tonyedgecombe 5y ago
    You have the opposite of that at the moment. Big companies can shift their profits around the world to avoid corporation tax but small ones have no choice but to pay it.
    - permo-w 5y ago
      and that's exactly what this is trying to address
- gamblor956 5y ago
  A large percentage of U.S. corporate ownership is held by foreign taxpayers that would not be subject to U.S. taxation on dividends or capital gains absent a fairly large and radical change in tax law, including breaking more than a hundred tax treaties. It's much easier to simply impose an AMT and eliminate a relative handful of expense shifting mechanisms (many of which are already covered by a regime known as "transfer pricing").
  - tonyedgecombe 5y ago
    They would be liable for tax on dividends in their own country, just as US investors in non US companies would be liable for tax at home. No radical change needed (besides abolishing corporation tax).
    - gamblor956 5y ago
      That's not universally true, because many countries don't tax foreign-sourced income of their citizens, (meaning in this context, dividends paid by a corporation not incorporated in the taxpayer's country of tax residence).
      - tonyedgecombe 5y ago
        That doesn't require "radical change in tax law, including breaking more than a hundred tax treaties." to fix though. Those countries can deal with it as they see fit.
gher-shyu3i 5y ago
The usurious underlying financial system.

Corporation tax. They should just dump it and tax dividends and capitals gains like any other income. It's easy to shift corporation tax but much harder to shift an individuals income.

permo-w 5y ago
This sounds like a good idea for the current, somewhat dystopian world we're living in, but have you ever thought about whether huge corporations are even a net positive in the first place? I think that even if taxing corporations doesn't make sense in terms of tax revenue, it makes sense in terms of stopping companies from growing too large Imo corp tax should be nil until you get to about 1m profit, and then brutally progressive after that. Small businesses are great, and companies that benefit the consumer by being large can be public-owned and both compete internally and internationally.
- tonyedgecombe 5y ago
  You have the opposite of that at the moment. Big companies can shift their profits around the world to avoid corporation tax but small ones have no choice but to pay it.
  - permo-w 5y ago
    and that's exactly what this is trying to address
gamblor956 5y ago
A large percentage of U.S. corporate ownership is held by foreign taxpayers that would not be subject to U.S. taxation on dividends or capital gains absent a fairly large and radical change in tax law, including breaking more than a hundred tax treaties. It's much easier to simply impose an AMT and eliminate a relative handful of expense shifting mechanisms (many of which are already covered by a regime known as "transfer pricing").
- tonyedgecombe 5y ago
  They would be liable for tax on dividends in their own country, just as US investors in non US companies would be liable for tax at home. No radical change needed (besides abolishing corporation tax).
  - gamblor956 5y ago
    That's not universally true, because many countries don't tax foreign-sourced income of their citizens, (meaning in this context, dividends paid by a corporation not incorporated in the taxpayer's country of tax residence).
    - tonyedgecombe 5y ago
      That doesn't require "radical change in tax law, including breaking more than a hundred tax treaties." to fix though. Those countries can deal with it as they see fit.

gher-shyu3i 5y ago

The usurious underlying financial system.