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Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes

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Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes

#61

Post by aisengard »

MatekCopatek wrote: post #42
dawnerd wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sales tax is a tax to the consumer. I fail to see how that would affect Netflix at all.

The consumer just cares about the final price. They won't distinguish a price increase caused by taxes from one caused by corpo decisions. So assuming Netflix set their current prices optimally, they will be have to keep them and take the hit.

This is not really true. Sales tax is almost always a tack-on. Netflix can very easily advertise the same prices, and then when sales tax gets added on in your credit card statement they can just throw up their hands and say "the government makes us do this!". At least, that's how I'd see it - I'm paying Netflix X, and I'm paying the government Y. In no way does Netflix "eat" this cost.

Could try and pass legislation to force all companies to only ever advertise after-tax prices, but that's a doozy to enforce.

Sales tax is always regressive. The only ones who are paying it is the consumer.

Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes

#64

Post by druddha »

natalyarostova wrote: post #54
onion2k wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I spend a few million to get some lawyers to work out a legal loophole that means I can murder someone and get away with it that wouldn't make it OK to actually do it. The same applies to tax avoidance. It might be legal but it's still wrong .

Argument by contrived analogy is so awful.

Can you explain why you think that analogy is contrived?

Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes

#66

Post by vkou »

driverdan wrote: post #34

Rather than being outraged at the headline, what are the actual details? Why were they able to pay no taxes? Was it due to carried losses or something like that? Anyone mad at a company for not pay taxes is misdirecting their anger. Companies follow the law. If you don't like the law elect different politicians. Don't get mad at companies that follow the law.

Because in a democracy, it is always easier for one bad actor to spend $xyz,000 on lobbying the government to let them steal $10,000,000 from the public, then for 300 million people to organize, and lobby against you stealing 3 cents from each of them. It's an obvious defect of the system.

Of course, in 2019, half of those people have been convinced that they'll become rich, if they just let large firms fleece them.

Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes

#67

Post by refurb »

otachack wrote: post #46
driverdan wrote: post #34

Rather than being outraged at the headline, what are the actual details? Why were they able to pay no taxes? Was it due to carried losses or something like that? Anyone mad at a company for not pay taxes is misdirecting their anger. Companies follow the law. If you don't like the law elect different politicians. Don't get mad at companies that follow the law.

It's not that simple. Companies lobby to keep, even coerce, laws that benefit them and allow these sorts of things to happen. What is the common person, or collection of persons, supposed to do when they are against that kind of force? I believe one way is to actually be involved in politics and get into the seats that govern and make the laws. But it's easier said than done.

Honest question - can you give an example of a tax law that was lobbied for that benefited corporations?

And I mean beyond just a decrease in tax rate which businesses would be expected to lobby for.

Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes

#68

Post by sosuke »

natalyarostova wrote: post #54
onion2k wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I spend a few million to get some lawyers to work out a legal loophole that means I can murder someone and get away with it that wouldn't make it OK to actually do it. The same applies to tax avoidance. It might be legal but it's still wrong .

Argument by contrived analogy is so awful.

Yes and it also makes the point clear that tax law isn't just in the sense of right or wrong.

Clearly the majority think murder is wrong and if you could avoid the consequences of committing murder by way of spending money that would probably also be considered wrong. Murder loop holes would be closed up pretty quick I hope.

Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes

#69

Post by Symmetry »

onion2k wrote: post #48
driverdan wrote: post #34

Rather than being outraged at the headline, what are the actual details? Why were they able to pay no taxes? Was it due to carried losses or something like that? Anyone mad at a company for not pay taxes is misdirecting their anger. Companies follow the law. If you don't like the law elect different politicians. Don't get mad at companies that follow the law.

If I spend a few million to get some lawyers to work out a legal loophole that means I can murder someone and get away with it that wouldn't make it OK to actually do it. The same applies to tax avoidance. It might be legal but it's still wrong .

In this case the way Netflix avoided income taxes was entirely reasonable and something I would hope to add to the legal code if it wasn't already there, like the self defense exception for murder charges.
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