3 ms·
Avoiding paying taxes because you lost money doing something destructive, that we as a society have to bear the cost for by living in a damaged environment, is
by maxbond 5y ago
Avoiding paying taxes because you lost money doing something destructive, that we as a society have to bear the cost for by living in a damaged environment, is a form of double dipping. It externalizes risks while keeping gains private.
- gruez 5y ago>Avoiding paying taxes because you lost money doing something destructive But in this case her being able to avoid paying taxes isn't really because she did something destructive, it's because her business did badly. If gambled all her money on meme stocks or whatever, and lost, she would be able to claim the same deduction. The main issue here seems to be that valuations can be fudged to maximize tax savings, not that you can avoid taxes after causing an oil spill. >It externalizes risks while keeping gains private. but her company already paid fines for it?
- lordnacho 5y agoI think the suggestion is that if the company had been fined, there wouldn't be a tax deduction. So why wasn't the settlement structured as a big fine, rather than a cleanup expense?
- rhino369 5y agoIf she's not adequately paying the costs, that issue should be resolved directly. But business deductions aren't really avoiding taxation. It's more accurately calculating your profits so the taxation can be calculated.