Slashdot Mirror
Amazon's Luxembourg Tax Deals
Presto Vivace writes in with this story of a European Commission investigation into a secret tax agreement between Amazon and Luxembourg. "Leaked tax documents from accounting firm PwC in Luxembourg show how Amazon sidesteps the 30 per cent tax rates local [Australian] players face. The Luxembourg documents, obtained in a review led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, contain some of the first hard numbers and details on how Amazon pays virtually no tax for its non-US earnings, including in Australia. Last month, the European Commission announced an investigation into the secret 2003 advance tax agreement Amazon struck with Luxembourg that is the key to its global tax strategy. The Luxembourg documents show not only the extent of the related-party transactions in Amazon's Luxembourg companies but how Amazon has changed its tax strategy after investigation by French tax authorities and the US Internal Revenue Service. The change is so dramatic it raises questions whether the European Commission is targeting the right transactions."
Cool, the people involved in this are going before a jury, right? ...right?
No.
And it's worth noting that Apple and Microsoft do the same thing, but because they're paying Slashdot, we're being set onto one of their competitors instead, like the baying pack of dogs we are.
Not only will no executives be on trial for tax evasion, and not only will they not lose any of the fortunes they have been amassing as "bonuses", but we will soon be hearing about how Amazon is broke and taxes are unfair for a company the size of Amazon (it's only good for us commoners to keep us common).
Oh wait, a few threads are already making those latter claims...
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
Taxes — by definition — are collected at the point of a weapon. It is perfectly natural to wish to avoid them. And we used to understand that attitude a lot better in this country — if Boston Tea Party has taught anybody anything...
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
This would appear to be a bug in the international tax system.
Quite the contrary. It's not a bug it's a feature. The kind of deal Amazon was able to strike with Luxembourg is an important defense against overly greedy countries (like the U.S.) which try to tax more than they should be entitled to. Note that the story says this is only about non-U.S. earning. Why should the U.S. be entitled to taxes on non-U.S. earnings?
If Luxembourg is willing to offer lower tax rates than other countries, why shouldn't Amazon accept? It's no different than choosing to shop at a store that offers the lowest prices.
If I can be modded down for being a troll, can I be modded up for being an orc, or a balrog?
Taxation is damage and if you are not routing around it you get damaged. Income related taxes are anti-progress, anti-society, anti-economy. "Progressive" income taxes are anti-individual liberty, pro-discrimination. Income related taxes are immoral and bad economics (let government to grow when the other spending is actually cut by people, governments should be cut just like all other expenses when people cut down on spending, by tying government to income taxes, society destroys savings thus destroying and preventing capital investments).
Income taxation is immoral, not only bad politics. It is immoral because it assumes that government owns you, owns your productive output, thus owns your entire existence, your body, your life, your time on this planet.
Income taxes and fiat money and fiat printing are the evil that is destroying the economy and society and everybody needs to start routing around this damage.
You can't handle the truth.
That's rubbish. The damage caused by corporations opting out of the USA's repressive tax regime and incomprehensible, idiotic rules is negligible compared to the harm and actual, verifiable damage caused by incompetent politicians stuffing their porkbarrels hand over fist. Why should Amazon/Apple/Google pay for smartbombs and drones used to kill children?
In the US those who avoid taxes hold the much higher moral ground. Besides, it'll take hundreds of millions of years at this rate for the US to pay that debt down. Makes no sense throwing more on the bonfire of Osama Barrack's ambitions. Unless perhaps you think all the children ought to die, and it's only fair that we all pitch in for the drones.
Why should the U.S. be entitled to taxes on non-U.S. earnings?
Why shouldn't I be able to declare my residence a PO Box in Luxembourg, and work in the US but deduct the majority of my earnings as licensing fees to my other headquarters (and so earned there rather than here), thus only paying a fraction of the taxes I would otherwise? And then receive government services and aid due to my low income? That's the sort of thing corporations do.
And actually I might be able to pull this off, if I create a company elsewhere, hire myself at my company at low wage, and offer the services of my company's employees (ie me) for top dollar, payed to the company. Though I have a sneaking suspicion that this isn't allowed for the little guy.
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
Corporations avoid them because it is profitable to do so.
They're just playing the game that's being played, they all do it. For example: Apple's Tax Strategy
No, much of their local competition in book sales etc (not being international companies with multiple subsidiaries in the EU) are not doing this. Apple etc's competitors are generally multinationals who also play these tricks. But in many cases Amazon's are not, and the effects of tax abuse are that much more problematic as they don't only affect tax revenue but also distort the market.
I'm sure you'd complain too if you had to pay $300,000,000 out of $1,000,000,000.
Paying 30 cents for a dollar doesn't seem like a lot... but $300,000,000 is quite a bit.
Tax rates are too high. This is why corporations evade them: so they can stay alive.
No, I think I'd be too busy sipping pina coladas on a beach somewhere to complain about much of anything if had $700 million after tax!
Wrong, involuntary coercion is not teamwork. Violence is evil and what you call a 'team', I call a pack of thieves if they are using the collective to steal from others to subsidize themselves or anybody ag all. So lets start over: violence is evil. Real voluntary exchange is teamwork that does not rely on violence.
Using violence to force people to give up anything in life is evil, cooperating on voluntary basis is helpful.
Taxes are state (mob) violence. Non agression is not even discussed as a subject in state schools, which are used by the state to perpetrate evil stuff with the approval of the mob.
You can't handle the truth.
If it was only shielding non-US profits from US tax collection I'd be inclined to agree, but I think they're evading taxes in every country they're doing business in.
Luxembourg can afford to offer low tax rates because there's no cost to them. Amazon is using the infrastructure in other countries (e.g. roads, airports, etc.) to make money without paying for it. If they actually based their entire business in Luxembourg and then shipped worldwide I'd say it made sense. This is not competition on tax rates, this is just a scam.
No. I pay taxes because it's my duty to society.
I also don't rob banks, because I consider it an obligation to society not to do so.
Perhaps you are a sociopath, and we need threats of violence to control people like you but not all of us are that way.