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How does Google pay 2.4%?

cameronkeng.com

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Re: How does Google pay 2.4%?

#51

Post by invalidOrTaken »

gabrielh wrote: post #12
camz wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ironically, corporate taxes these days generates less than 20% of the fiscal revenues for the government. Generally, 1040 individual taxes still make up the bulk of the taxes paid. In addition, more than 35% of all taxpayers pay zero tax or pay no tax and get refunds. This number is constantly changing, especially recently with the economy. I've seen it go as high as 60%. Lastly, when the government talks about corpo…

Its important to note that if a person doesn't owe taxes directly, the probably do contribute through payroll tax. [1] [1] http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/14/pf/taxes/who_pays_income_tax...

Just saying they "contribute" doesn't get the whole point across. They do pay taxes, it's just not visible. Payroll taxes have to be the most ingenious method of hiding taxes from voters ever.

Re: How does Google pay 2.4%?

#52

Post by tsuraan »

digisth wrote: post #48

Here's another idea: drop the corporate tax rate to 0% and raise income, high-end property (let's say houses that cost 2x the median in a particular area), and high-end consumption taxes (a "yacht tax".) Another handy related idea would be to have a maximum income multiplier. Something like "the highest paid employee cannot make more than 20x the lowest paid in total compensation", so if you want to make one million…

Here's another idea: drop the corporate tax rate to 0% and raise income, high-end property (let's say houses that cost 2x the median in a particular area), and high-end consumption taxes (a "yacht tax".)

If corporations don't pay taxes, then won't everybody who can afford to just do all their business (income and all) through shell corporations? Sort of the way that currently wealthy people skirt the estate tax by having a company own their land, so their next of kin can just inherit the CEO position of the company?

Re: How does Google pay 2.4%?

#53

Post by william42 »

recampbell wrote: post #43
yummyfajitas wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem goes far beyond Google Ireland and Google Netherlands. What about Tata, Reliance, Baidu and Guinness? None of them pay their fair share to the US government. Something must be done about these evil corporations which exist outside the US, don't bring money into the US, do no business in the US, and pay no taxes in the US!

Would google exist if not for investments in education and r&d made by US taxpayers over the past 50 years?

I wonder what the world would be like if Google were still tied into Stanford.

Re: How does Google pay 2.4%?

#54

Post by mahyarm »

mahyarm wrote: post #8

If your not attached to the USA you can just move you and your business to a territorial based corporate income tax country (singapore, etc). Income not repatriated into the country and not generated from the country is tax free. If your an american citizen you'll still have to pay personal federal income tax to the USA, even if you don't live in the USA, and to your country of residence but you can work with that mu…

I also want to note that the USA is the only country in the world to base income taxation on citizenship/green card and residency, vs residency only for the rest of the world. Be a citizen of anywhere else and you can be really tax free/low tax.

Re: How does Google pay 2.4%?

#55

Post by btilly »

ttdi wrote: post #35
btilly wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Citi went farther. They did things like declare a particular desk in a skyscraper in NY to be legally in the Cayman Islands. The IRS was not amused.

Do you have a source on this? I'd love to read more about this.

I wish I did. I heard about it because I used to work with someone who had worked there some years previous.

Re: How does Google pay 2.4%?

#56

Post by mahyarm »

mckoss wrote: post #47

Our congressional representatives are corrupt, doling out tax breaks to wealthy corporations, while ordinary people are left to pay high tax rates on ordinary income. I think Google should be ashamed to be part of this corrupt system. It's BS to say that they owe it to their shareholders to try to defraud the federal government of as much tax revenue as possible. They should instead be fighting for corporate tax refo…

It's not fraud, there is no lying involved in this. Your an international company that gets money from everywhere, your based everywhere, and you have employees everywhere. Who deserves the bulk of the tax revenue?

Should Toyota pay the majority of it's taxes to the US because they sell a large amount of cars there, or only the income taxes of their employees in the US and the profits they receive from car sales in the USA? Should Japan get the majority of Toyota's tax revenue because they are headquartered there? Even though the majority of Toyota's income from Japan is minor vs the rest of the world combined? What incentive would they have other than personal reasons to stay then vs just use it as a net-loss R&D center and minor manufacturing plant to avoid tariffs?

These things are significantly more gray than you think.

Re: How does Google pay 2.4%?

#57

Post by BCM43 »

jrockway wrote: post #39
camz wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lol. It sounds like I worked with your friend. I'd like to note that the US is also a noted tax haven for foreign countries. We aggressively allow our country act as a tax shield for European and Asian companies so we should be throw rocks either when we live in a glass house

I'm not sure that makes sense. Let's say, hypothetically, the Europe and Asia have a tax rate of 99%. We offer a tax rate to foreign companies of 2%, to make it obviously worthwhile to funnel their money through the US. At the same time, we tax US companies at 98%. This makes sense because it maximizes revenue -- US companies aren't going to go abroad, and everyone else in the world will want to give us 2% of their m…

Would wouldn't the U.S. companies just move abroad and funnel their money though the US?

Re: How does Google pay 2.4%?

#58

Post by mahyarm »

camz wrote: post #37
jamespetersonau wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great question. My understanding was that the (primary) purpose of corprate income tax is not to directly collect revenue, but rather to encourage reinvestment by firms in the economy. Increasing CGT would discourage investment. Can others please enlighten us?

Well the corporate tax is meant to collect revenue but it's secondary goal is promote certain activities. Mainly, they want to promote job creation and increased productivity, which is in theory done through reinvestment. When you reinvest into equipment, the logic goes that the productivity increases and new higher paid jobs are created even though the lower end labor is eliminated or reduced. Increasing capital gai…

I think as a side effect it encourages companies to use credit as a financial buffer (single digit interest rate vs. double digit tax rate) vs. savings since corporate taxes are effectively a tax on corporate savings longer than a few months to a year.

Re: How does Google pay 2.4%?

#59

Post by mahyarm »

recampbell wrote: post #43
yummyfajitas wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem goes far beyond Google Ireland and Google Netherlands. What about Tata, Reliance, Baidu and Guinness? None of them pay their fair share to the US government. Something must be done about these evil corporations which exist outside the US, don't bring money into the US, do no business in the US, and pay no taxes in the US!

Would google exist if not for investments in education and r&d made by US taxpayers over the past 50 years?

How much of SV are immigrant engineers in general although? Is it really the USA or just the fact it became a hollywood and it's gravity keeps it going?

Re: How does Google pay 2.4%?

#60

Post by travisp »

mahyarm wrote: post #54
mahyarm wrote: post #8

If your not attached to the USA you can just move you and your business to a territorial based corporate income tax country (singapore, etc). Income not repatriated into the country and not generated from the country is tax free. If your an american citizen you'll still have to pay personal federal income tax to the USA, even if you don't live in the USA, and to your country of residence but you can work with that mu…

I also want to note that the USA is the only country in the world to base income taxation on citizenship/green card and residency, vs residency only for the rest of the world. Be a citizen of anywhere else and you can be really tax free/low tax.

Not only does the US tax its citizens who live and work abroad, it will also do so for 10 years after one renounces citizenship.
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