Google Founders Cut Salaries to $1

GeneralCern writes "MSNBC Reports that Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and CEO Eric Schmidt all slashed their salaries to $1 last year. Since you do not have to pay FICA, Medicare, or income taxes on the capital gains associated with stock sales, they stand to substantially decrease their tax burden. Is this a breach of the company's "do no evil" mission statement, or just an example of people who love their jobs so much they don't need to be paid to go to work?" Update: 04/09 13:11 GMT by H :And don't trust the above tax lines; it all depends on how sales are done; moreover when you are worth X amount with stock, I suspect the "tax burden" of what is, relatively speaking, a salary that's small compared to networth isn't a substantial impact. Sorry folks; poor story.

Comments

Re:"do no evil" from a company that patents algori

[LucBorg]

Patenting algorithms on which the company is based does not matter so much.

I do think though that they have broken the "do no evil" ideology by exploiting the way taxes are calculated. With a salary of $1 they can pay like 30c tax on that, and keep a much larger proportion of their earnings via the stock dividens. Saddening that they would sink so low really.

Re:"do no evil" from a company that patents algori

[philipgar]

Because not wanting to be forced to give money to the government is evil? What? The government laid out laws and they're following them. Some of the laws follow natural arguments (do not kill do not steal etc) and some of them follow artificial arguments.

Then the government goes and points a gun to your head and makes you follow all of these laws. If they don't there's anarchy.

However, I personally feel it is absurd the amount the government steals from people. While taxes are needed to run the government, build roads and arguably schools (although I wonder if the private sector could do a better job there... couldn't do much worse) as well as the securing the defense of our nation.

However the constitution did not give the right for the government to take money from the rich for the sole purpose of giving it to the poor (at least not in the US, some revisionist judges have however allowed it). People who declare that the rich owe it to the poor sicken me. Someone works harder or smarter and ends up with more money than those who didnt does not owe money to those who didn't work as hard or were not as smart. Often they more than rewarded the others through the jobs they created or the services and/or products they created that make everyones lives better.

Arguing that someone who wants to save some of their own money from the government is morally wrong is a morally bankrupt argument. While I believe in some of slashdot's philosophies, the socialist rhetoric passed around gets old fast.

Phil

Why does Slashdot post every Google article.

[zymano]

Steve Jobs does the the same thing.

The other week ago we were bombarded with 'stupid' google maps. Who gives a flip ! Microsofts terraserver is way better for satellite photos. Is it that hard to switch from a map site to a satellite photo site ?

Slash is becoming googles little puppet and 'pr trialballoon site'.