3 ms·

I would propose that low level tax evasion can be a good thing. Tax evasion is the main balance against corporate takeover and monopoly control via lobbying/eva

I would propose that low level tax evasion can be a good thing. Tax evasion is the main balance against corporate takeover and monopoly control via lobbying/evasion at scale. I mean if someone is generating little money why would you want to tax them. One reason the small firms today get taxed heavily is because they are an easy target. Physical presence = easy to find, small = easy to intimidate. Meanwhile for years FB/meta/apple evaded taxes on a huge scale and were barely chased. It doesn't seem like the tax regime has stopped large multi-nationals taking over most high streets or tech firms taking over the internet. As a concrete example starbucks paid zero tax for 3 years in the UK, meanwhile many many small coffee shops paid a lot. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-starbucks-tax-idUSBRE89E0EX20121015 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-starbucks-tax-idU...

pjc50 3y ago
This is grey at the moment, but you have a good point; the cost of compliance (not just with taxes, but everything) tends to be constant for being in a particular market, and does not scale down with trade volume. It's one of my biggest criticisms of EU vs Anglo business culture is that EU countries tend not to have small business exemptions. And you can't really get new medium and large businesses without them growing through the small business stage. The ease of "forming a company" is a good marker. In the UK you can do it extremely cheaply with no minimum capital and very limited ID requirements over the web API. Italy has much harder requirements: https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/w-006-9469?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/w-006-9469?transi... ; only recently (2012) did they allow companies with less than E10k of formation capital!
- gpderetta 3y ago
  On the balance, the UK is better off with having a cheap LTD process, but as a downside, they are an easy way for less than reputable traders or small companies to avoid all liabilities and simply pivot to a new company when sued.

pjc50 3y ago

This is grey at the moment, but you have a good point; the cost of compliance (not just with taxes, but everything) tends to be constant for being in a particular market, and does not scale down with trade volume. It's one of my biggest criticisms of EU vs Anglo business culture is that EU countries tend not to have small business exemptions. And you can't really get new medium and large businesses without them growing through the small business stage. The ease of "forming a company" is a good marker. In the UK you can do it extremely cheaply with no minimum capital and very limited ID requirements over the web API. Italy has much harder requirements: https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/w-006-9469?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/w-006-9469?transi... ; only recently (2012) did they allow companies with less than E10k of formation capital!

gpderetta 3y ago
On the balance, the UK is better off with having a cheap LTD process, but as a downside, they are an easy way for less than reputable traders or small companies to avoid all liabilities and simply pivot to a new company when sued.