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Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by simonh on Thursday June 30, 2016 @01:32PM (#12010216)
Ok, but that's not tax avoidance because the companies are absolutely following government rules. Given the choice of having billions of dollars of investment in their country and thousands of jobs but no corporate tax; or no investment and no jobs and no tax, those governments are making a rational choice.

The real problem comes when these deals disadvantage local businesses competing with the big foreign conglomerates. But often these deals are really only necessary because the government has set up ridiculously high trade barriers, so the only way to get investment is with ludicrously generous deals. Brazil seems to be a classic example of this. The entire economic system is tangled mess of massive market distortions.

Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by gozur88 on Thursday June 30, 2016 @04:09PM (#12011279)
>Ok, but that's not tax avoidance because the companies are absolutely following government rules.

You're mixing up terms here. Tax avoidance is minimizing your tax bill within the law. Tax evasion is what you do when you pay less tax than your legal obligation.

Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by ptaipale on Thursday June 30, 2016 @04:27PM (#12011401)
Tax avoidance is by definition absolutely following government rules.
Re:Spanish authorities raid Google offices over tax by antr on Thursday June 30, 2016 @01:48PM (#12010342)
who said tax avoidance?