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Ecuador Tax Agency Closes Microsoft Branch Offices
An anonymous reader writes "The Ecuador Tax Agency (SRI) has closed Microsoft branch offices for seven days. 'We have twice requested balances, payment reports and complete tax information, but the company hasn't given it to us, so in accordance with our laws we have proceeded with the closure,' the SRI official in charge of the proceeding said. Microsoft said it was a human mistake."
That cant be right, anyone who works for Microsoft isn't human any more surely?
Isn't it company policy for employees to turn over their souls?
Ecuador holds dominion over the Galapagos Islands. Who made the Galapagos famous? That's right, Darwin... Which happens to be the name of Apple's OS Kernel. COINCIDENCE?
All your branches are belong to us!
Man wird am besten für seine Tugenden bestraft.
The first time it may have been a "human" mistake. Second time, I do not think so.
I wonder if this is related to paying for votes on the ISO committee?
Cue in the Excel jokes just about... now!
Microsoft closes tax offices.
It can only be attributable to human error. This sort of thing has cropped up before, and it has always been attributable to human error
Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
I doubt this will have the impact that it would if Microsoft were a traditional bricks-and-mortar company. Does this closure prevent Ecuadorians from activating copies of Windows, or downloading updates, or buying additional Microsoft licenses online?
At what point in time will tax authorities seek the right to seize a company's domain name and DNS entries to truly seize a business for back taxes.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
"Microsoft said it was a human mistake."
Well, it's highly unlikely they'd admit it was a technology mistake. So, a head will roll, a chair will be thrown, and full faith in Microsoft technology will return to normal in Ecuador.
/ You look like you're trying to evade \
\ taxes. May I help you? /
\
\
\ ____
\ / __ \
\ O| |O|
|| | |
|| | |
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|___/
cpu0: Microsoft Clippium ("GenuineClippy" ChromedMetal-Class). Paperbinding, lockpicking, fish-hook-hack support.
The entire story by my beloved Slashdot editor, Cowboyneal, should be modded as flamebait.
My god. How freaking petty to post such dribble on the front page of Slashdot as we celebrate the 10 year anniversary.
Yeah. MS is purposefully trying to rip off freaking Ecuador. What is the implication? Rwanda is next on their "hit list?"
How embarrassing, Cowboyneal. I shall withhold my Cowboyneal vote on the next two polls in retaliation. Next time, RTFA and then look for more sources on Google News.
There are hundreds of countries in the world with thousands of oversight entities. Every single hour/minute, some company gets this sort of "parking ticket." But, feels good when you are a UPS driver and you see that parking ticket on a Fed-Ex truck when you pull up. Right?
"If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid." - Epictetus
Sorry but the law is the law. MS forgot to send some papers and the rules had been applied on that case. Many other ecuadorian companies were also closed for seven days, MS was the only multinational branch closed.
Time to vote Steve Balmer and Bill Gates OFF the Board of Directors again. One day we will get lucky, MSFT will rise at LEAST 10..15% if they left. They don't contribute anything anyway.
http://www.rense.com/general79/wdx1.htm
of "we have a branch there?" offices. Considering Microsoft's revenues are about 1.8 times higher than the entire GDP of Ecuador, it probably doesn't rank really high on the list of priorities, all in all...
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
What this story really shows is that this little country treats all its businesses the same. No one gets special treatment just because they are a huge US based multi-national.
Undetectable Steganography? Yep, there's an app fo
MS doesn't employ humans, they employ drones, sheep, lawyers, shills, lobbyists and Darth-geeks.
Don't know if it's related, but maybe Ecuador isn't too afraid of MS nowadays since they're moving to free software:
http://rudd-o.com/archives/2006/12/13/%C2%A1success-for-free-software-in-latin-america/
Please help publicise swpat.org - the software patents wiki
in completely unrelated news, Microsoft announced that every copy of Windows trying to validate with WGA from Ecuador was found to be non-genuine. The affected systems have started zeroing the data on their hard drives.
If he explores all forms and substances Straight homeward to their symbol-essences; He shall not die.
In a statement released to Reuters this afternoon:
"Well, I don't think there is any question about it. It can only be attributable to human error. This sort of thing has cropped up before and it has always been due to human error."
Basically, the argument is that Microsoft didn't cooperate with an audit, so the government doesn't know if they paid taxes or not.
This is a very interesting though as it relates to regional politics. Rafael Correa won his election partly on the promise to clean up corruption in foreign corporate entities (in particular tax evasion and the like). It also has other ramifications for open source, business, economics, etc. in Ecuador. I will be watching this closely.
LedgerSMB: Open source Accounting/ERP
For a minute there I thought you guys posted something about me... /. front page.
Oh, well, I guess I'll have to continue the work for my Ig Nobel nomination to make it to the
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
Many Latin American countries have been struggling with corruption for a long time, Ecuador included. Ecuador in particular has been severely destabilized by such corruption (8 presidents in 10 years-- everything from coups to phony impeachments). Correa vowed to change that, and he has been doing a great job of it so far.
If Microsoft is not cooperating with tax audits, this could be due to an issue of management in their branch officies, but it could also be due to a human error. What is significant is that this happened at all. 10 years ago, it would have been unthinkable even if they weren't paying taxes at all. 20 years ago, it would have been avoided for fear of covert retribution from the US (as we saw in Guatamala, and arguably Ecuador as well).
This is significant because it means that Correa is serious about his willingness to stand up to powerful foreign corporations. Its significance is not limited to Microsoft-- this is more significant as to how it affects things like oil exports, foreign-owned banana plantations, and the like.
The rule of law is being asserted strongly in Ecuador which is a good thing.
LedgerSMB: Open source Accounting/ERP
MS Agent: Only human.
Ecuador: Dodge this.
sigs... don't talk to me about sigs....
Hmmm, let's see, now where in the map is Ecuador?
No, I don't think it will rank very high on the list. However, this doesn't mean they are free to break the law. If you don't like the law, then do not open a branch in that country, it's as simple as that. Being a small country makes it a small loss not having a branch there.
..for the simple reason that they'd have to be employing human beings for that to happen.
*ALL* mistakes are "human mistakes."
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/mm1297.08.html
Despite the rhetoric which the media seems to get almost completely wrong, I don't think that Rafael Correa is anything like Hugo Chavez. Correa is a rule-of-law capitalist who wants to see Ecuador develop along the lines of the United States. Of course this means that corporations must be forced to obey the laws evenly, which he has pledged to do. He has also pledged to get the Constitution rewritten to help reduce the level of corruption (restricting who can run on the basis that you must live in the district you want to represent), and a few other structural changes which are not aimed at disolving checks and balances but actually adding them. Independence from US interests and policy is a key element to his approach so he wants to close the USAF base in Manta, and has entered into an alliance of convenience with Chavez.
My own feeling is that Correa has acted responsibly regarding the attempts to rewrite the Constitution by tackling it immediately so that the question of term limits is less likely to be addressed as a way of keeping him in power.
CUrrently everything Correa has accomplished has been through sheer power of personality. He has been able to get previously opposing parties to back him and has, time and time again, routed opposition by building political alliances which would have seemed impossible before.
Correa, unlike Chavez is not a part of a massive political party. In fact, he doesn't have anyone from his party in Congress. Correa wants Ecuador, not Venezuela or Brazil, to be the new center of South America. Appearances aside, I think he is actually Chavez's worst enemy.
Correa earned his Masters in Economics in Belguim, and his PHD at the University of Illinois. He is a former university professor at USFQ (Universidad de San Francisco de Quito). He is hardly Anti-American. though he does dispise the Bush Administration (but so do I....). He is, however, unlikely to be a puppet to any other government.
LedgerSMB: Open source Accounting/ERP
No. This is NOT coincidence.
I believe that you've uncovered a cover-up!
Well done!
Now let us see Uncle Steve get out of this one!!!!
Quote from Wikipedia "Darwin is composed of code developed by Apple along with code derived from NEXTSTEP"
NEXTSTEP? Is this the Next Step Uncle Steve?
There's more to this that meets intelligent design...
Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
I lived in Ecuador for a while. The SRI had continually changing requirements for various reports.
:-)
I have also seen small businesses like restaurants closed for days for not paying IVA (VAT tax).
I once saw graffiti that said something like "stop the corruption of the SRI" -- *on* the SRI office in the jungle city of Puyo.