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Big corporations lobby to have tax laws that result in a low tax liability for themselves. Tax laws for large multinational corporations are also tend to get i

Big corporations lobby to have tax laws that result in a low tax liability for themselves. Tax laws for large multinational corporations are also tend to get into grey areas, where it's hard to tell if something is legal or not (not saying Apple are necessarily in that grey area). The fact that big multinationals are not paying as much tax as many people think is fair is undeniably the fault of both those companies and politicians.

icelancer 14y ago
The corporations are just acting on their incentives. The opportunity exists, therefore they're going to take advantage of it. Returning maximum value to shareholders is something that most (all?) corporations are trying to do. To not take advantage of government loopholes would be neglecting fiduciary duty. It's not the corporation's job to police morality. That responsibility theoretically belongs to the state. If they're inept and/or corrupt, so be it.
- rednukleus 14y ago
  > To not take advantage of government loopholes would be neglecting fiduciary duty. Not true. Taking advantage of loopholes is sometimes illegal, and sometimes a grey area. > If they're inept and/or corrupt, so be it. So why don't we all just give up then? Companies have a duty to earn as much money as possible regardless of morality, lobbying to get whatever laws changed they feel like in the process, and politicians can do whatever they want once they are elected. In my view letting corporations determine law, law determine morality, and accepting it without complaining is an exceptionally bad idea.
  - icelancer 14y ago
    > In my view letting corporations determine law, law determine morality, and accepting it without complaining is an exceptionally bad idea. I absolutely agree. But as I said prior in the thread, expecting private corporations to not act in their best interest is like arguing against gravity.

icelancer 14y ago

The corporations are just acting on their incentives. The opportunity exists, therefore they're going to take advantage of it. Returning maximum value to shareholders is something that most (all?) corporations are trying to do. To not take advantage of government loopholes would be neglecting fiduciary duty. It's not the corporation's job to police morality. That responsibility theoretically belongs to the state. If they're inept and/or corrupt, so be it.

rednukleus 14y ago
> To not take advantage of government loopholes would be neglecting fiduciary duty. Not true. Taking advantage of loopholes is sometimes illegal, and sometimes a grey area. > If they're inept and/or corrupt, so be it. So why don't we all just give up then? Companies have a duty to earn as much money as possible regardless of morality, lobbying to get whatever laws changed they feel like in the process, and politicians can do whatever they want once they are elected. In my view letting corporations determine law, law determine morality, and accepting it without complaining is an exceptionally bad idea.
- icelancer 14y ago
  > In my view letting corporations determine law, law determine morality, and accepting it without complaining is an exceptionally bad idea. I absolutely agree. But as I said prior in the thread, expecting private corporations to not act in their best interest is like arguing against gravity.