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Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by andrewprock on Thursday June 30, 2016 @12:58PM (#12009912)
Yet, they also have an ethical responsibility to the society in which they operate. Being legal and ethical are two different things.
Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by mrschwabe on Thursday June 30, 2016 @01:03PM (#12009965)
What if the taxes are unethical?
Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by kafkaesq on Thursday June 30, 2016 @04:14PM (#12011309)
What if the taxes are unethical?

Doesn't matter -- when the principals signed documents agreeing to incorporate, they simultaneously agreed to abide by the what the law says in regard to paying taxes due as the law requires. If they thought these laws were "unethical"... well, that was their chance to make a principled stand against them.

Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by andrewprock on Thursday June 30, 2016 @01:13PM (#12010037)
That's like asking "what if profits are unethical?"
Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by mrschwabe on Thursday June 30, 2016 @01:24PM (#12010138)
Why would profits be unethical?
Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by bobwaycott on Thursday June 30, 2016 @01:35PM (#12010236)
Profits would be unethical if they were derived from unethical business practices. This isn't difficult to imagine.
Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by mrschwabe on Thursday June 30, 2016 @02:05PM (#12010483)
Okay fair point. Though I don't necessarily see the correlation to taxation. I assume what perhaps is being implied is that the money from taxation can be used for ethical or unethical practices (as oldmanjay points out). Yet that analogy skips how tax is only possible with profit, not to mention the fundamental issue of whether or not taxation of profit is ethical in the first place.
Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by bobwaycott on Thursday June 30, 2016 @03:26PM (#12011010)
Well, your original question was in response to an assertion that a corporation has an ethical responsibility to its society. You asked what if the taxes are unethical, which strikes me as a bit silly at best. I only offered a suggestion to your second question of why certain profits would be considered unethical. The matter of the choices made by leaders who spend tax revenue is independent of levying, paying, and collecting taxes.

If you have an argument that describes how taxing profits is unethical in contemporary society, as they are legislated by elected representatives, I'm sure there are others beside me who'd love to read it.

Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by jedmeyers on Thursday June 30, 2016 @02:15PM (#12010552)
Then taxes is not the way to remove those profits from the company.
Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by bobwaycott on Thursday June 30, 2016 @02:17PM (#12010571)
That wasn't the question I was answering.
Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by spdy on Thursday June 30, 2016 @01:14PM (#12010046)
How can a tax be in this category?
Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by oldmanjay on Thursday June 30, 2016 @01:23PM (#12010131)
There are many ways a tax can be unethical. It may finance torture, invasion, and fomenting coups in undeveloped nations that lead to widespread suffering. For example.
Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by bobwaycott on Thursday June 30, 2016 @01:33PM (#12010222)
That is not an ethical problem with the tax, but with the choices made by leadership on policies and budgets.
Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by hueving on Thursday June 30, 2016 @01:54PM (#12010397)
Sure it is. Taxes can be levied for very specific purposes. Even ignoring that category of taxes, if you find that a whole country is operating immorally, then funding that company is immoral.
Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by lostlogin on Thursday June 30, 2016 @02:53PM (#12010825)
To reply to a comment I can't reply to: spdy 7 minutes ago

But this is not the context we are talking about here. Spain is part of the EU and the so called "1st" world.

I'm not sure if you're being tongue in cheek or not, but the 1st world may have less repression and human rights violations but it doesn't have none. And member states have invaded other countries in recent memory, have been involved in torture, institutional racism, etc.

Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by bobwaycott on Thursday June 30, 2016 @03:32PM (#12011049)
FYI: you can reply to any comment by clicking on the n [minutes/hours/days] ago link.
Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by yongjik on Thursday June 30, 2016 @04:22PM (#12011358)
You can't willingly start a business in a country that finances torture and invasion, make yourself money, and then turn around and say you won't pay tax because the country is unethical. That will be hypocrisy of highest magnitude.
Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by spdy on Thursday June 30, 2016 @02:37PM (#12010715)
But this is not the context we are talking about here. Spain is part of the EU and the so called "1st" world.
Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by cardamomo on Thursday June 30, 2016 @01:36PM (#12010240)
"Taxation without representation."
Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by infodroid on Thursday June 30, 2016 @01:56PM (#12010412)
If you have the friends that companies like Google do, then I don't think you have any problems with representation.
Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by bobwaycott on Thursday June 30, 2016 @03:27PM (#12011020)
Taxation without representation has not been an issue in America since 1776. Unless you're referring to multinationals lacking direct representation in foreign legislatures. At which point, it's fair to both consider that as a reasonable consequence of choosing to engage in business in other national jurisdictions, and to admit they undoubtedly have indirect representation.