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Activision Blizzard has moved billions of dollars of profit into tax havens

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181–190 of 219 posts

Re: Activision Blizzard has moved billions of dollars of profit into tax havens

#181
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think it’s a few. Did you put money in a 401k? Did you buy a house and calculate the tax deduction? Did you hold onto a stock so you’d get the lower long term capital gains rate? Did you contribute to an HSA or FSA? The majority of people make decisions that optimize their tax rate.

Only 30 percent of Americans itemize and less than half even have a 401(k). 46% do not own any stock at all, either directly or indirectly through retirement savings. We are definitely not talking about the majority here.

Owning a house pre-SALT changes? Home ownership rates are in the 60% range.

Have an FSA or HSA?

You can cherry pick my examples.

Re: Activision Blizzard has moved billions of dollars of profit into tax havens

#182
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Legal /=/ moral

One could argue that they have a moral obligation to their shareholders to minimize their tax burden. I can't even imagine a moral obligation to pay excess taxes, that's simply not how taxes work.

[deleted]

Re: Activision Blizzard has moved billions of dollars of profit into tax havens

#183
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't agree. People with enough money and expertise follow complicated routines to minimize taxes. People without the money or expertise don't have the same advantage. I don't think arranging tax payments in such a way as to require accountants and lawyers to get the most efficient tax burden is a good system. I'm not saying Blizzard employees or owners should be jailed for doing this. I'm saying we should realize…

Could you share with us the correct amount of taxes Activision Blizzard should pay? As long as this remains an impossible question to answer then they should probably pay the least amount possible. I'm all for improving current tax regulations, but first we must agree that the problem is with the regulations.

Yes, the correct amount is definitely at least whatever the settlement that they agreed to, where blizzard has effectively admitted that they were wrong and broke the law.

They broke the law. They lost. That's what the courts determined.

What, do you not believe in the law or something? Because this is what the courts did. They said that blizzard was guilty, and therefore I judge them as such.

Re: Activision Blizzard has moved billions of dollars of profit into tax havens

#185
post #6

It's downright ridiculous to complain about companies taking perfectly legal steps to reduce their tax burden. As the oft-quoted US judge Learned Hand said: > Anyone may arrange his affairs so that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which best pays the treasury. There is not even a patriotic duty to increase one's taxes. Over and over again the Courts have said that there is…

Just because the law says so doesn't make it right or moral. Just legal.

Re: Activision Blizzard has moved billions of dollars of profit into tax havens

#186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the argument against taxes on digital goods? How does it differ from a broader argument against taxes?

Why tax something that provides only positive value without using local ressources.

For one, because we don't tax to "punish" (e.g. use of local resources) or to encourage, but to create a pool of money our governments can use for country-wide works, defense funding, and so on.

Re: Activision Blizzard has moved billions of dollars of profit into tax havens

#187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where are these places where politicians have neither money nor power?

Theocracies, military dictatorships

Only a very narrow definition of politician would exclude generals and theocrats. They rise to power through politics too.

Re: Activision Blizzard has moved billions of dollars of profit into tax havens

#188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Theocracies, military dictatorships

Is that a semi-ironic joke? The elite in theocracies have plenty of money. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/iransource/rage-agains... The big difference is that the elite here invent crazy-useful shit like online-shopping or iPhones or map-reduce. The elite in a theocracy or military dictatorship accomplish and contribute nothing.

>The big difference is that the elite here invent crazy-useful shit like online-shopping or iPhones or map-reduce.

No elite ever invented any such things. Engineers working for the elites (and getting shit all for their invention most of the times) did. Same way the Pharaohs didn't built the pyramids themselves...

Re: Activision Blizzard has moved billions of dollars of profit into tax havens

#189

Ah, ever since I'm doing consulting prep (for a couple of weeks now), I have a new perspective on this. It's just a new perspective, that I happen to trade in in for my soul, not as a price, but as a side effect really, but whatever. I guess that had to happen if you want to know what game the executive suite is playing :D The question is: why wouldn't they? Big corporations exist for one reason which is brought abou…

I hate it when people rationalize-justify this behavior of corporations. Look up the history around the Freedman doctorine. It wasn't always like this, and it doesn't have to be.

Thanks! I'll look into it, I'm curious about the Freedman doctrine.

I also hate it when people do rationalize this, but at the same time not really. It depends on the perspective I have at the time. I switch in it. The rest of my comment shows how.

As a member of the public, consumer and human being I'm pretty mad about this and I don't like this type of analysis because it looks like a justification.

As an employee and in some cases as a consumer, I'm not mad about this and it's not a justification, it's just as I simply see how the world works. Companies are tigers, they kill other organisms. It sucks, but alright that's the state of the world. Humanity is driving other species extinct. Alright, that sucks, but it is the state of the world.

In all this confusion of perspectives, I do know one thing. If one doesn't dare to look at how they see the world is, that's when things go even more dark than they already are.

Which is why I'm simply stating how I view what I believe to be the self-interest of a global giant corporation: which is making profit.

It sucks, but it is how it works. I don't want it to work this way, but I don't have enough of an incentive to change it. Do you?

At least you pointed me to a new source of knowledge to look at, so I suppose that's something. If I had knowledge that would wield the power of change for a better world, I would've used it.

Re: Activision Blizzard has moved billions of dollars of profit into tax havens

#190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why tax something that provides only positive value without using local ressources.

Electricity (energy) is a resource.

As is overwhelmingly the telco that delivers those bits to screens/devices. Whether wireless or wired. Very expensive infrastructure in fact, as with electricity (generation, delivery, reliability).
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