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Re:Paradise Papers: Dear Tim Cook by chx on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @11:57AM (#15654259)
> What annoys me the most is that, as a small company, I can't evade from my country tax system. I pay the taxes. All of them, at full rate.

I am not even annoyed by that. I am an immigrant into Canada. We sort of made a deal: you let me into a place where I can live a safe and free life and I will pay my taxes leading to that. I stand by that deal. I had a company in Gibraltar (which, by the way, was completely legal, I am a citizen of the EU and I exercised my right to establish a company wherever I in the EU pleased) which I closed down and moved my affairs into Canada and I am a proud Canadian taxpayer (and now even a citizen but that came much later).

But gosh. I am a very small fish here. I only make a few hundred thousands a year. Could we please implement a system where I report my earnings (not my profits), slap a flat tax on it and that's it? No bookkeepers. No complexity. No exceptions. Just a friendly, flat small business tax.

Re:Paradise Papers: Dear Tim Cook by dalore on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @12:23PM (#15654526)
A tax on earnings? Do you mean revenue?

I think that's a bit insane and lot's of business wouldn't be able to survive. If I buy something for $100 and sell it for $110 I now have to pay tax on the $110 amount rather then the $10 amount, increasing my tax tremendously.

For businesses with lot's of inventory that would be murder.

Re:Paradise Papers: Dear Tim Cook by gwenzek on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @04:02PM (#15657000)
I think it would be the only solution, because it will always be easier to manipulate your benefits than earnings.

Although we could imagine something more complex: pay taxes on (revenue - expenses to compagnies that also pay taxes).

So now if you buy a product $100 to a company paying 25% taxes and sell it $110, you pay taxes on the $10, but if you buy your product to a company in some island, you pay taxes on the $110.

Smarter: if you buy to a company that pays a 20% tax while in your country you should pay a 30% tax, then you pay taxes on ($110 - $100*(30%-20%) = $20).

Everything get more complex but it's just a bit more CPU time.

Re:Paradise Papers: Dear Tim Cook by chx on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @08:44PM (#15659042)
Wherever this is implemented it's an option. It's never mandatory. There are tons of knowledge based operations where expenses are way too few. Obviously if you are a traditional buy stuff, add value, sell stuff business then you want to bother with bookkeeping sure.