Even if you do a good job closing the 'loopholes' they can just operate with bitcoin. Stop charging taxes on profit/income and the problem will be solved.
Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes
141–150 of 512 posts
Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes
#142Populist clickbait headline is clickbait. I'm sure Netflix paid tons in employer contributions to employee income taxes, social security taxes, etc. They probably paid a bunch in sales taxes where they made purchases. Property taxes for data centers, office buildings, etc. So there are many more taxes that everyone pays beyond the income tax. As others have pointed out, the tax code is immensely complex, but you prob…
I'm sure Netflix paid tons in employer contributions to employee income taxes, social security taxes, etc.
This situation should not be viewed as Netflix paying tax. An employee's benefits, pay, time off, etc. are all part of the compensation of an employee. If Netflix did not pay this on behalf of the employee then the employee would have to pay it. For instance, for contractors they (the contractor) pay the full FICA and not half. This is partly why contractors generally get paid more in terms of hourly rate.
The FICA that Netflix pays on behalf of employees is an expense. Corporations don't pay tax on expenses. They pay tax on profits. It is a bit unseemly for some corporations to have large profits but pay no income tax.
Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
The answer is to outlaw lobbyists, it would fix a lot of problems. That, and enact term limits for Congress. That will fix even more.
Not siding one way or the other, that will definitely limit the amount of expertise that comes with a Congressman/Congresswoman. Think about it, it takes at least six months for us to learn our jobs, they have to learn about hundreds of things ongoing in the government before they can make informed decisions. You then even rely more on lobbyists (or "experts") who at least generally know what they are talking about.…
I think it is, like most problems. I tend to favor the idea of term limits but while discussing this with a friend who used to work in politics, he made a good point I thought. His experience is that the staff change is the real problem in a political change. The ramp up time for a new staff is very long, the politician would not be able to get much done until the staff figures everything out, then it would be time to change again depending on the limit.
Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes
#144Is this due to loss carry over ? The original link is timing out. Can someone explain the rational behind carrying over your loss ? I understand you had a loss in one year and you didn't pay taxes. But why is the business allowed to spread that loss across multiple years and lower their taxes ? That seems a little questionable to me.
Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes
#145Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
The answer is to outlaw lobbyists, it would fix a lot of problems. That, and enact term limits for Congress. That will fix even more.
Outlawing lobbyists will be as successful as outlawing drugs to fight drug problems.
Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes
#146Earlier quoted context omitted.
The answer is to outlaw lobbyists, it would fix a lot of problems. That, and enact term limits for Congress. That will fix even more.
Not siding one way or the other, that will definitely limit the amount of expertise that comes with a Congressman/Congresswoman. Think about it, it takes at least six months for us to learn our jobs, they have to learn about hundreds of things ongoing in the government before they can make informed decisions. You then even rely more on lobbyists (or "experts") who at least generally know what they are talking about.…
2 terms in the Senate is 12 years. 4 terms in the House is 8 years. There will be plenty of knowledge transfer between junior and senior members in that time.
Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes
#147Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
I don't have a source on this, but I've commonly heard that tax software companies (intuit, hrblock, etc) lobby for not having simpler taxes because it would take away from a large part of their business. Again, no sources. Just something that is commonly thrown around. Here is a HN discussion on it though: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16841449
Several links here that look reputable:
https://www.propublica.org/article/filing-taxes-could-be-fre...
Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes
#148Earlier quoted context omitted.
Big companies lobby every law for their benefits. They hire full time lobyists. Big companies can pay million $ a year for lobbying. Then the question is, does it really influence laws? Well I think if it didn't, they wouldn't spend so much money.
I think your last point is precisely backwards. Total annual lobbying spending is just $3.7 billion a year, in a $19 trillion economy. It's a tiny amount of money compared to the stakes. If lobbying was so effective companies would spend way more money on it. It's also notable that you couldn't point to a specific tax law, like OP asked for. Lower taxes in general--nobody needs to lobby for that, there is a large con…
3.7 billion is an industry thay produces 100 times the value on investment on average.
Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes
#149Earlier quoted context omitted.
The answer is to outlaw lobbyists, it would fix a lot of problems. That, and enact term limits for Congress. That will fix even more.
Not siding one way or the other, that will definitely limit the amount of expertise that comes with a Congressman/Congresswoman. Think about it, it takes at least six months for us to learn our jobs, they have to learn about hundreds of things ongoing in the government before they can make informed decisions. You then even rely more on lobbyists (or "experts") who at least generally know what they are talking about.…
If the lobbyists are merely providing a service to politicians, then why are they paying politicians instead of politicians paying them?
Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes
#150Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not siding one way or the other, that will definitely limit the amount of expertise that comes with a Congressman/Congresswoman. Think about it, it takes at least six months for us to learn our jobs, they have to learn about hundreds of things ongoing in the government before they can make informed decisions. You then even rely more on lobbyists (or "experts") who at least generally know what they are talking about.…
I think it is, like most problems. I tend to favor the idea of term limits but while discussing this with a friend who used to work in politics, he made a good point I thought. His experience is that the staff change is the real problem in a political change. The ramp up time for a new staff is very long, the politician would not be able to get much done until the staff figures everything out, then it would be time t…
Which is why it's crazy to me that you wouldn't want to keep your predecessor's staff around.