Re:Microsoft had shifted at least $39B in U.S. profits to Pu...
by paxys on Wednesday January 22, 2020 @03:46PM
(#22121832)
"Who deserves a corporation's taxes?" is still an unanswered question globally.
A company pays employees who pay income taxes in jurisdictions where they live and work.
It pays payroll taxes in the regions it operates and employs people.
It pays sales taxes on the materials it purchases and collects and transfers sales taxes for stuff it sells, to the state/jurisdiction where the sale takes place.
It pays property taxes on buildings it owns.
All of this is obvious, but then the company as a whole likely has some revenue and (maybe) profit - who taxes those? The country where it is registered? Where it has the most employees? Every country and jurisdiction it operates in or has sales in, with some agreed-upon split?
This last question is the cause of every single "company XYZ paid nothing in taxes" or "company XYZ uses a tax haven" article out there.
A company pays employees who pay income taxes in jurisdictions where they live and work.
It pays payroll taxes in the regions it operates and employs people.
It pays sales taxes on the materials it purchases and collects and transfers sales taxes for stuff it sells, to the state/jurisdiction where the sale takes place.
It pays property taxes on buildings it owns.
All of this is obvious, but then the company as a whole likely has some revenue and (maybe) profit - who taxes those? The country where it is registered? Where it has the most employees? Every country and jurisdiction it operates in or has sales in, with some agreed-upon split?
This last question is the cause of every single "company XYZ paid nothing in taxes" or "company XYZ uses a tax haven" article out there.