Earlier quoted context omitted.
If we're going to be strictly factual about it, Google is actually spending money on cancer research and spaceships; http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/oncampus/08/10/google.html describes one of a number of grants that are going to researchers on, among other things, cancer; Larry Brilliant himself suffered from thyroid cancer. Also, Google bought SpaceShipOne, which is now on display at the Googleplex. Presumably Scal…
Sorry, that wasn't really the intention of my example, which was to show the range of government spending. Ultimately, though, it boils down to this: Google isn't doing anything with this money, except earning less than 1% interest on it. Google can afford to pay taxes in the countries in which it operates. That it does not, while obviously legally defensible, reflects poorly on the other work it does. Public plumbin…
Re: The Tax Haven That's Saving Google Billions
#291The fact that Google isn't doing anything with the money doesn't mean the money isn't being put to use. If the money is in standard banks, it is being used to fund mortgages and credit cards. If it's invested in the market, it is being used by other companies to expand their businesses. If it's invested in municipal bonds, it is allowing cities to develop infrastructure. If it's in various countries' treasury bonds, it is funding those governments directly (since many countries are funding themselves on debt instead of or in addition to raising taxes).