Posted on 05/21/2002 5:57:06 AM PDT by Dog Gone
The mad dash for the islands is on.
No, it's not Houstonians seeking fun and sun. It's Houston corporations -- and others elsewhere -- seeking to pay less in taxes.
They are making those moves despite snide comments about the patriotism of their executives and demagoguing from members of Congress.
The islands we're talking about don't collect corporate income taxes from the companies that move there. And companies aren't really moving. They are simply setting up a paper headquarters in those tropical paradises.
It's instructive to look at why they feel that move is necessary.
For some of the more arcane details of the U.S. tax laws we're about to visit, let me credit the writings of Chris Edwards and Veronique de Rugy of the Cato Institute, a Washington-based think tank that leans toward libertarian views.
First, all the companies moving have one thing in common. They earn a significant portion of their income from sales or services outside the United States.
Second, that's where they will get those tax savings -- on their foreign sales.
They will continue to pay corporate income taxes on their sales in the United States. But not on foreign sales.
You can expect to see more of this rush to the islands. After all, one-third of the sales of the 500 largest U.S. companies come from foreign affiliates.
Unlike many other developed countries, the United States taxes corporations on their worldwide revenues. For example, if I'm based in Houston and manufacture here but sell the majority of my widgets in, say, France, then I pay U.S. corporate tax on my French sales.
About half of the developed countries -- France and the Netherlands are examples -- don't tax income from foreign sources.
Now, U.S. companies will also pay taxes in foreign countries for their sales there.
And they may credit the foreign taxes they pay against their U.S. taxes.
There are just two problems with that approach, both of which work against American companies.
The U.S. corporate income tax is 35 percent. If a U.S. company sells goods or services in Belgium, which has a 40 percent corporate income tax, it may not offset the entire 40 percent against its U.S. corporate tax bill. It may only charge off 35 percent, the same rate as the U.S. tax.
But in the United Kingdom, which has a 30 percent corporate tax rate, our U.S. widget maker will pay the 30 percent to the Brits, then an additional 5 percent to the U.S. government.
Now, U.S. companies may aggregate foreign taxes -- that is try and blend earnings in foreign low- and high-tax countries to reduce their U.S. taxes. But that's making business decisions not on what's best for growing sales and profits but on what's best to reduce taxes.
But the real disincentive is the complexity of the U.S. tax laws. You see, U.S. corporations don't pay taxes on foreign profits until they bring them home. And naturally, over the years American companies have found all sorts of reasons not to bring home those profits for as long as possible. Postpone taxes long enough, put that money out drawing interest, and voilà, you earn enough that, in effect, the added income pays the taxes.
In retaliation, the the U.S. government has aggressively expanded its taxation of foreign income of U.S. companies.
As a result, U.S. companies faced a set of Byzantine rules on their foreign income. It's become so complicated that one study found 46 percent of federal tax compliance costs for the Fortune 500 companies stemmed from rules on foreign income.
By moving their incorporation to Bermuda or the Cayman Islands, companies no longer have this problem. They pay the 35 percent corporate income tax on the business they do here. They pay no taxes on the business they do elsewhere.
Which leads us to a final point.
Corporations really don't pay income taxes. Their customers do, in the form of higher prices.
Any countries that have radically lowered or eliminated their corporate taxes -- Ireland comes to mind -- have seen prosperity soar as companies flock in to take advantage of the lower tax rates.
Hint: If you want to increase revenue, don't scare away business by extorting massive quantities of money from them. It works for Ireland, it will work for us. Heck, if Russia continues to loosen its tax regulations the way it is so far, it will soon be more free than we are! Ain't THAT a kick in the pants? And to think that we have the DUNCES in clowngress to thank for it!
:) ttt
HA! So well said! The DNC is a criminal enterprise, aided and abetted by the LIBERAL majority in the media.
Screw 'em all.
:) ttt
If we weren't over taxing everyone and everything as a nation then the companies wouldn't have to create shelters.
Corporations, just like people, behave predictably when you give them incentives. In this case, we are essentially encouraging our corporations to leave the country.
Corporations, just like people, behave predictably when you give them incentives. In this case, we are essentially encouraging our corporations to leave the country.
Good point. But, the really important fact that your statement alludes to, but leaves hanging, is that given incentives to leave, wealthy people will leave, as well. The Action America web site has been attempting to shine a light on this exodus for many years (see Tick-Tick-Tick - The Economy Bomb). This corporate flight is only a mild problem and symptom of the much greater problem of wealthy individuals being forced to leave. After all, only 10% of US tax revenue comes from corporate taxes and furthermore, when wealthy individuals leave, they are now forced to take ALL of their wealth with them, to keep it from being confiscated by the benevolent US government, under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
Approximately 100,000 taxpayers left the United States last year. How many of them do you think were poor? When wealthy individuals are forced to leave, the effect is much worse than when a company leaves, since individual income taxes fund the lion's share of the government budget and the top 5% of individual income earners (incomes over $120,846 per year) fund over half of that.
But, now that the media is shining such a light on increasing corporate expatriation, it will certainly stimulate more wealthy individual taxpayers to take a serious look at the financial opportunity, liberty and freedom offered by moving offshore. What this translates to is that it is becoming even more critical that we stop this insane attack on wealth, before the steady flow of wealth offshore becomes a raging torrent that will only stop when either the US economy implodes or the Constitution is suspended, the borders closed and what little wealth that is left, is seized.
The proliferation of these news articles indicates that we are fast running out of time. To delay any longer is a risk that we can no longer afford. The problem is that we tax income, rather than consumption. It's time to repeal the 16th Amendment and replace the income tax with a National Retail Sales Tax (NRST), before even that is no longer an option.
Except this crap is being pushed by globalist corporate "libertarians" who want to establish some kind of corporate feudal system whereby they can fatten their portfolios totally unencumbered while slapping the peons with a heavy-handed 30% consumption tax.
These NRST flying monkeys even praise tax cheats who have renounced their citizenship as "tax-patriots".
IMHO, they're no better than Judas kissing Jesus while betraying Him for 30 pieces of silver.
At this point, maybe the tax code is going to force a lot of us out of the country.
Renouncing citizenship to avoid taxes is not cheating. It is called tax avoidance and is legal, though the US is trying to make it illegal. Whatever you think of it, the US government doesn't actually own us, yet, although they are diligently working on it.
..and Jesse replied: Renouncing citizenship to avoid taxes is not cheating.
Some 40 odd years ago, in the 50's, I remember hearing in school how great the USA was compared to other countries. Two examples stick in my mind. 1) In many countries, and WWII Germany in particular, you might be able to leave, but you'd have to leave all of your life's savings behind, to be plundered by the government and the border guards. 2) In the USSR, kids were encouraged to tell about un-PC behavior on the part of their parents (economic crimes, listening to Radio Free Europe), and rewarded when they did.
It could never happen here, could it? Or haven't I been paying attention, and it already does?
There is a legal distinction between those who legally change their citizenship and those deadbeats who skip out on tax-bills that are owed. The NRST flying monkeys make no distinction between the two, and neither do I. If the scumbags value their American citizenship so little that they won't fulfill their tax obligations to our nation, then they're no better than the invertebrate draft-dodgers who fled to Canada to avoid military service. Good riddance to the pissants.
My goodness. A Willie rant. Are you a fan of Michael Moore, by any chance?
Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND ??? Paying taxes is not patriotic, it's being robbed by your own damned government !!
50+% of the taxes collected are transfer payments to other people. So in effect they are stealing about 50% of your productivity (add all the taxes up and it's close) and your productive LIFE.
I don't like being extorted for 25% (half ofg the 50%) of my life to pay for someone elses' weakness, age or mistakes. In fact I HATE IT.
But spare me your cocodile tears for jack@$$es who renounce their American citizenship.
Pi$$ on 'em. They're a disgrace.
I believe this "issue" was recently raised as a problem by Charles Grassley, a Republican Senator.
Is he RINO, or just some kind of goofball?
My hat is off to anybody who can set up a corporate office on a tropical island so as to prevent shareholders' (people like you and me) money from getting dumped down the black hole of the American socialist welfare state.
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