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Ethics aside, you can create an NGO with three people and do a lot of stuff in it's name that you can't do as a private individual or it would be a lot more exp

Ethics aside, you can create an NGO with three people and do a lot of stuff in it's name that you can't do as a private individual or it would be a lot more expensive to do. If everyone did this, it would stop being a special ability of some people.

xnickb 27d ago
Bonus points: kids need lego? Buy it without VAT. Write it off as a "client demo asset"
- pfisch 27d ago
  To write something off means you need revenue to offset. Revenue that would be taxed...
  - cyberax 27d ago
    Revenue is rarely taxed, usually only profit is. And it's easy to avoid it.
    - mocamoca 27d ago
      This is not how VAT usually works. As a company you collect VAT from your customers and pay VAT to your suppliers. Depending on the resulting balance, you will either give back the amount of surplus collected VAT to your country/state/whatever or you will be provided with VAT credit. VAT collection is different from a profit tax or other taxes.
    - apefulsin 26d ago
      Yes, that's how the trick works. Profit is revenue minus expenses. By increasing expenses, you decrease profit, and therefore tax. But it only works if you had a profit before, because the government doesn't pay you back tax when you lose money.
sph 27d ago
> do a lot of stuff in it's name that you can't do as a private individual Can you do murder? Otherwise I’m not interested. Joking aside, what exactly could you do legally with an NGO?
- pllbnk 27d ago
  > Can you do murder? Only if it kills many people over the long time.
  - smolder 27d ago
    Stochastic murder, like selling oxycontin.
  - cyanydeez 26d ago
    In the 90s a bunch of charities installed wells in Africa but didn't get them tested for water quality and poisoned whole villages. Intent is such an interesting moral stance as opposed to actual outcomes.
    - abustamam 26d ago
      I think the "intent" ( pun not intended) for "intent" to be a moral stance was to not discourage people from trying to do good things for fear they may do something bad and get in trouble or whatever. In an ideal world this would be good but then of course it's ripe for manipulation because it's hard to prove one's intent
giancarlostoro 27d ago
> If everyone did this, it would stop being a special ability of some people. More like only the little guy loses this ability

xnickb 27d ago

Bonus points: kids need lego? Buy it without VAT. Write it off as a "client demo asset"

pfisch 27d ago
To write something off means you need revenue to offset. Revenue that would be taxed...
- cyberax 27d ago
  Revenue is rarely taxed, usually only profit is. And it's easy to avoid it.
  - mocamoca 27d ago
    This is not how VAT usually works. As a company you collect VAT from your customers and pay VAT to your suppliers. Depending on the resulting balance, you will either give back the amount of surplus collected VAT to your country/state/whatever or you will be provided with VAT credit. VAT collection is different from a profit tax or other taxes.
  - apefulsin 26d ago
    Yes, that's how the trick works. Profit is revenue minus expenses. By increasing expenses, you decrease profit, and therefore tax. But it only works if you had a profit before, because the government doesn't pay you back tax when you lose money.

sph 27d ago

> do a lot of stuff in it's name that you can't do as a private individual Can you do murder? Otherwise I’m not interested. Joking aside, what exactly could you do legally with an NGO?

pllbnk 27d ago
> Can you do murder? Only if it kills many people over the long time.
- smolder 27d ago
  Stochastic murder, like selling oxycontin.
- cyanydeez 26d ago
  In the 90s a bunch of charities installed wells in Africa but didn't get them tested for water quality and poisoned whole villages. Intent is such an interesting moral stance as opposed to actual outcomes.
  - abustamam 26d ago
    I think the "intent" ( pun not intended) for "intent" to be a moral stance was to not discourage people from trying to do good things for fear they may do something bad and get in trouble or whatever. In an ideal world this would be good but then of course it's ripe for manipulation because it's hard to prove one's intent

giancarlostoro 27d ago

> If everyone did this, it would stop being a special ability of some people. More like only the little guy loses this ability