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Microsoft SEC 8-K: IRS is seeking an additional tax payment of $29B

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Re: Microsoft SEC 8-K: IRS is seeking an additional tax payment of $29B

#161

Post by gizmo »

bsenftner wrote: post #154
londons_explore wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The stock price doesn’t seem to be hurting pre-market at all. Big investors will have eyes and ears inside the IRS, so will have known for years about this already.

At what point does information such as this become "insider information" and illegal to share? These "eyes and ears" need to have their taxes audited...

Never, because "insider information" is a legal concept that doesn't correspond with what people intuit it means. People wrongly think insider trading is when one party unfairly profits from having important information other investors don't have.

Also, sharing "insider information" isn't illegal. In some narrow cases profiting off of "insider information" is illegal, but in most cases it's not.

Re: Microsoft SEC 8-K: IRS is seeking an additional tax payment of $29B

#162

Post by andrewstuart »

Yea hello it’s Mr Smith here from the tax department. I’ve just been reviewing your file and it seems that you are a little short in your tax payments by…… let’s seeeee ……. ummmm …… yes, $29,000,000,000. Can you pay it now please?

Re: Microsoft SEC 8-K: IRS is seeking an additional tax payment of $29B

#163

Post by blitzar »

pavlov wrote: post #149

The infraction happened in 2004-2013. So that would be over three billion dollars per year. Microsoft’s operating income in fiscal year 2005 was about $15B and in 2013 almost $27B. So you can kind see where the IRS is getting this number: if they believe that Microsoft evaded tax worth about 10-15% of its earnings before taxes, that’s how it would add up to this whopping sum. It seems like Microsoft believes they can…

+ 10 years of interest and penalties, compounding.

Re: Microsoft SEC 8-K: IRS is seeking an additional tax payment of $29B

#164

Post by seunosewa »

gizmo wrote: post #161
bsenftner wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At what point does information such as this become "insider information" and illegal to share? These "eyes and ears" need to have their taxes audited...

Never, because "insider information" is a legal concept that doesn't correspond with what people intuit it means. People wrongly think insider trading is when one party unfairly profits from having important information other investors don't have. Also, sharing "insider information" isn't illegal. In some narrow cases profiting off of "insider information" is illegal, but in most cases it's not.

In which cases is it legal?

Re: Microsoft SEC 8-K: IRS is seeking an additional tax payment of $29B

#165

Post by littlestymaar »

blitzar wrote: post #163
pavlov wrote: post #149

The infraction happened in 2004-2013. So that would be over three billion dollars per year. Microsoft’s operating income in fiscal year 2005 was about $15B and in 2013 almost $27B. So you can kind see where the IRS is getting this number: if they believe that Microsoft evaded tax worth about 10-15% of its earnings before taxes, that’s how it would add up to this whopping sum. It seems like Microsoft believes they can…

+ 10 years of interest and penalties, compounding.

From the article:

> Microsoft owes the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) $28.9 billion in back taxes, not including penalties and interest

Re: Microsoft SEC 8-K: IRS is seeking an additional tax payment of $29B

#166

Post by jszymborski »

gizmo wrote: post #161
bsenftner wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At what point does information such as this become "insider information" and illegal to share? These "eyes and ears" need to have their taxes audited...

Never, because "insider information" is a legal concept that doesn't correspond with what people intuit it means. People wrongly think insider trading is when one party unfairly profits from having important information other investors don't have. Also, sharing "insider information" isn't illegal. In some narrow cases profiting off of "insider information" is illegal, but in most cases it's not.

> unfairly profits from having important information other investors don't have.

It all depends how you come to know the thing, no? If you can infer something from public information others haven't, then bully for you.

I'm pretty sure that if that information is not public, then you're liable. IANAL though so I may be wrong.

Re: Microsoft SEC 8-K: IRS is seeking an additional tax payment of $29B

#168

Post by littlestymaar »

esrauch wrote: post #148
kwhitefoot wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course it is valid. The principal on which much of taxation is based is that it is a tax on the benefit that the income provides. And that benefit accrues in the US. The only way it can be claimed to be invalid is by conflating legal with moral.

You're suggesting that their EU sales shouldn't pay EU income at all, rather US income taxes instead? Usually the criticism of this is the opposite direction, that sales in Germany should pay taxes in Germany.

> You're suggesting that their EU sales shouldn't pay EU income at all,

Well, since this is Ireland tax rates we're talking about, this is almost the same thing…

Re: Microsoft SEC 8-K: IRS is seeking an additional tax payment of $29B

#170

Post by SSLy »

onli wrote: post #147
jacquesm wrote: post #143

Maybe they can sell Github to a company that is more aligned with long term FOSS interests?

Which company would be big enough to fit that description and able to pay enough to make a dent in this big an amount?

IBM?
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