Twitter Tax Controversy Explained In Cartoon Form

theodp writes "If you prefer to digest your news in a cartoon format, you'll be happy to know that the Twitter tax controversy has gotten the Next Media Animation TV treatment. In the NMAtv clip, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone cuts a tax break with San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and ascends a ladder to 'Tax-Free Haven' where he's high-fived by execs from GE and Google. If you insist on reading the news, IBD has an account of the payroll tax break, which critics are calling corporate welfare." A hilarious, but true, story. Please remember, when you see 'haven' instead of 'heaven,' that English isn't everyone's first language.

Comments

i think haven was a pun

[retchdog]

admittedly it's a bad pun, but would it really be surprising that the taiwanese media have a better grasp of english than slashdot editors?

Re:i think haven was a pun

[Asclepius99]

Tax Haven isn't a pun, it's an actual term. Remember, English isn't the first language of all the /. editors.

Tax Haven

Re:i think haven was a pun

[Jon Stone]

"Tax haven" is a common term in UK English. Is the term not common in the US?

Roblimo isn't a native English speaker?

[MartinSchou]

Seriously?

Please remember, when you see 'haven' instead of 'heaven,' that English isn't everyone's first language.

What the fuck? Now you're mocking people for using the term "haven"? A perfectly acceptable word when talking about tax-free locations.

Dictionary.com definition of "haven"

ha ven [hey-vuhn]

-noun
1. a harbor or port.
2. any place of shelter and safety; refuge; asylum.

-verb (used with object)
3. to shelter, as in a haven.

Now, as a person for whom English is his 3rd language, allow me to dumb down my judgment of Roblimo's IQ and knowledge of English to a level that even he should be able to understand, despite it having three syllables: Imbecile.

You may also want to look up the term "walking on cloud nine".

Re:twitter makes money

[hairyfeet]

While I hate corporate welfare I really don't know if you can call it that in this case. In fact what they got Twitter to agree to is to build new offices in a scummy slum part of town, which of course will now cost Twitter in extra security and such, in the hopes that they can renew the area and get businesses to move back which will also get the same break if they move into scum town.

Now considering this neighborhood is probably "welcome to the jungle" you are gonna have to offer something for any business to take the risk, and I'm sure there will be employees that will turn down an offer from twitter because they'd have to go into and out of such a rough area.

So while I think bullshit like GE paying almost no taxes by pulling crap like the double dutch IS bullshit and needs to be stopped ASAP, giving a company a break for taking increased risk by moving into bad areas in the hope of fixing them up is just smart. The same was done several years ago in my own state with the river market area, and whereas before the place looked like Beirut, what with all the bombed out looking buildings and garbage everywhere, now it is a really nice neighborhood with little shops and a thriving gay community.

Everything there is clean and nice with plenty of foot paths and nobody is afraid to walk there anymore, so I'd say the tax breaks the city gave were money well spent. If by giving them a tax break the city of SF can do the same to one of their slums why not? Better than just letting the buildings fall apart and become fire hazards like Detroit.