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Schmidt On Why Tax Avoidance is Good, Robot Workers, and Google Fiber
Bruce66423 writes "Eric Schmidt said that a £2.5 billion tax avoidance 'is called capitalism' and seems totally unrepentant. He added, 'I am very proud of the structure that we set up. We did it based on the incentives that the governments offered us to operate.' One must admit to being impressed by his honesty." Schmidt also says that if you want a job in the future you'll have to learn to "outrace the robots," and that Google Fiber is the most interesting project they have going.
How many people reading this intentionally pay more tax than they are strictly required to?
I can't fault anyone for taking advantage of legal loopholes.
If you want to blame someone go after the Sociopaths in Washington(TM) who created the U.S. tax code.
Please. Someone go after them.
The more Schmidt speaks the less you can take the do no evil line seriously.
Why would it be a good thing for us to work really hard so we can keep jobs by outpacing robot workers?
The goal should be 0% involuntary employment.
If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
Extrapolating from current trends, we're going to hit the hyper-wealth singularity only to find out that it's a feudal nightmare.
3%-5%, but on gross receipts, not profits. The security, safety, and infrastructure the US Government provides is a cost of doing business, not a luxury which is consumed when profit occurs.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
That would be a very likely dystopia. Automation leading to mass unemployment, but without the foresight to shift society to a model able to operate under those conditions. The result being billions of people living in poverty because there is simply no work for them to do, while those who do control wealth have no incentive to share it freely. The only apparent solution is some sort of techno-socialism, but the S-word is considered obscene in US politics, so that isn't going to be easy.
This isn't just about deductions and credits though. Its about moving your money to subsidiaries in countries where no actual business is taking place and cooking the books in such a way that you practically avoid paying any tax at all on billions of dollars in profit.
Again. These companies are under no legal, moral or ethical constraint to assume the maximum tax burden possible.
They're under fiduciary constraints to maximize their shareholders' investments.
If you think that the current tax avoidance schemes are a Bad Thing, stop pissing and moaning at the companies who are simply doing what they're supposed to be doing and change the fucking laws.
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THANK GOD!!!
As long as the tax code is complex, it will favor those with the resources to exploit the complexity.
The fundamental problem is not that the tax code is complex (though I agree that is a problem) but rather that it is really, really difficult to define income in such a way that it closes all potential loopholes. It's even more difficult to do so in a way that is politically possible, especially considering the influence corporate concerns have with elected officials. I understand what you are saying but I'm actually a certified accountant and I can tell you that eliminating loopholes in the tax code is MUCH more difficult to achieve than most people realize.
My personal opinion is that we should eliminate the corporate tax rate, removing the shenanigans altogether. Make up for this by making dividends and capital gains taxable as income.
Umm, then companies will stop paying dividends and companies can avoid paying taxes by avoiding realizing capital gains. Both are fairly easy to accomplish. You also haven't considered the effects of national and state boundaries. A lot of tax avoidance strategies are based upon exploiting differences in tax codes in different countries, states and/or municipalities.
So if someone was standing on the street corner with a bag of money and they said "whosoever approaches while hopping on one foot gets $1000 cash", would you do it? Or would you say "someone else needs the money" and ignore him?
Should I not claim the mortgage interest deduction and the child tax credit? The original idea behind tax credits/deductions is for the government to encourage desirable behavior. You can't cry foul when you say "People who do X will get money!" and then people do X and take the money. If you don't want to give them money, stop providing the hoops to be jumped through. But then don't complain when they stop jumping.
This is not about corporations making full use of tax credits.
This is about corporations licensing "IP" e.g. the name "Google" from some company in the Bahamas for almost as much money as they make (before the licensing) in a country such as the UK. As a result they appear to make no UK profit (since they have to pay so much for the name "Google") and hence have to pay no tax.
Basically it's about moving all actual profit offshore before it's taxed.
It might be legal, but it is unethical and it looks like lawmakers are looking to fix that loophole.
And FYI, that is something it is possible to do as an individual. Most people don't and those that do are generally looked on as scum.
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