You paid more in taxes than America's largest corporation

[goof2]

Originally Posted by smileyman

Good. Have them move. At least that way we can control their interest with appropriate tarriffs. Better than having them here buying elections with Supreme Court allowed P.A.C funds. Better than having our country controlled by corporate dollars instead of peoples votes...

The problem is none of that would change. About the only differences would be employing fewer Americans in order to avoid higher taxes. If GE were to move their corporate headquarters to Switzerland, Bermuda, or the Cayman Islands you think they would stop lobbying for every benefit they can possibly get from the "Green Economy" government slop trough? You seem to have the idea that these corporations should operate as sort of philanthropic organizations. That doesn't work particularly well.

What you want, higher corporate taxes, results in the corporation avoiding them as much as possible while raising prices to offset the taxes they can't avoid. The majority of taxes a corporation is going to pay in America will come straight out of the pocket of an American who buys their product. If you want to see a benefit from a corporation's operations either go work for them or invest your money with them.

[smileyman]

Originally Posted by goof2

The problem is none of that would change. About the only differences would be employing fewer Americans in order to avoid higher taxes. If GE were to move their corporate headquarters to Switzerland, Bermuda, or the Cayman Islands you think they would stop lobbying for every benefit they can possibly get from the "Green Economy" government slop trough? You seem to have the idea that these corporations should operate as sort of philanthropic organizations. That doesn't work particularly well.

What you want, higher corporate taxes, results in the corporation avoiding them as much as possible while raising prices to offset the taxes they can't avoid. The majority of taxes a corporation is going to pay in America will come straight out of the pocket of an American who buys their product. If you want to see a benefit from a corporation's operations either go work for them or invest your money with them.

You dont have to be philanthropic or charitable to be responsible. These corporations do not reinvest their wealth and profit, they hoard. Think of all us consumers as cattle. We consume, we reproduce, they reap. If they dont feed the cattle it stops. Nothing for us to send them in way of capitol investment, nothing to boost their profit from increased sales. You have to reinvest with the ones who support you.

[goof2]

Originally Posted by smileyman

You dont have to be philanthropic or charitable to be responsible. These corporations do not reinvest their wealth and profit, they hoard. Think of all us consumers as cattle. We consume, we reproduce, they reap. If they dont feed the cattle it stops. Nothing for us to send them in way of capitol investment, nothing to boost their profit from increased sales. You have to reinvest with the ones who support you.

Fine, but that happens through their costs of doing business like paying employees, buying parts/raw materials for their products, and making capital investments. GE for example has factories all over the country and it costs them money to operate those factories. Those are the payments that actually go to the people buying their products directly or indirectly.

What they are hoarding overseas is done because the government's tax policy has made that the most financially advantageous strategy for GE to take. For the most part paying more taxes doesn't "feed the cattle", it feeds the parasitic insects that suck off the cattle. A corporation that pays more than is required is not being responsible to those they actually answer to, their shareholders, their stakeholders, and their employees. This is especially true since ultimately that "extra" money is coming from their consumers in the first place.

[smileyman]

There's a yin to that yang. Them paying an appropriate portion of their taxes eases the burden on tax payers to invest money with them and buy their products.

I know they are avoiding taxes for the good of the share holders and profit, but if everyone does that where does it leave our country? With only W4 wage earners to pay for everything who do they hope will buy their products? Is having them employ some of those W4 folks worth them not paying taxes? Or getting the huge tax credits from the government?

There has to be a balance and a circulation. I'm certain I do not want the government controlling private enterprise. I also dont want private enterprise controlling the government. Which is my main concern, not whether they got off light on taxes.

[goof2]

Originally Posted by smileyman

There's a yin to that yang. Them paying an appropriate portion of their taxes eases the burden on tax payers to invest money with them and buy their products.

I know they are avoiding taxes for the good of the share holders and profit, but if everyone does that where does it leave our country? With only W4 wage earners to pay for everything who do they hope will buy their products? Is having them employ some of those W4 folks worth them not paying taxes? Or getting the huge tax credits from the government?

There has to be a balance and a circulation. I'm certain I do not want the government controlling private enterprise. I also dont want private enterprise controlling the government. Which is my main concern, not whether they got off light on taxes.

The "appropriate" portion of their taxes will come from one of two places, either making their products more expensive (burden on the consumer/less competitive in international marketplace/hurts sales) or cutting costs (a host of methods but no real help to the company long term).

Ultimately a company is going to do what is necessary to maintain profits. If the government decides to implement policies in a futile attempt to make sure they don't "get off light on taxes" you can pretty much bet it will come at the expense of those W-4 wage earners.