News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Green Scream: The Decay of the Hollywood Special Effects ... by eurleif on Friday March 01, 2013 @08:42AM (#5304144)
>The studio was the latest casualty of a trend that’s been plaguing the VFX industry in recent years: an outflow of work to countries with better tax incentives

Seems like the failures aren't just caused by the free market.

Re:Green Scream: The Decay of the Hollywood Special Effects ... by ollysb on Friday March 01, 2013 @09:00AM (#5304218)
Surely this is a case book example of the free market in action.
Re:Green Scream: The Decay of the Hollywood Special Effects ... by eurleif on Friday March 01, 2013 @09:01AM (#5304223)
How is something caused by government intervention an example of the free market in action?
Re:Green Scream: The Decay of the Hollywood Special Effects ... by ef4 on Friday March 01, 2013 @10:18AM (#5304620)
One can argue that tax jurisdictions compete with each other in a market. Which is a good thing, as it helps put an upper bound on how aggressive a jurisdiction can get before capital starts fleeing.

But of course this picture is missing one of the key mechanisms of a truly free market -- there's no market pricing of the market participants themselves. You can't buy out a government that's acting foolishly.

Re:Green Scream: The Decay of the Hollywood Special Effects ... by cdtwigg on Friday March 01, 2013 @10:30AM (#5304704)
It's a refundable credit, meaning that the government will reimburse the company for VFX work above and beyond its tax liabilities. How is this "tax jurisdictions competing" and not a direct government subsidy? http://www.bcfm.ca/faq/#pstc4
Re:Green Scream: The Decay of the Hollywood Special Effects ... by ef4 on Friday March 01, 2013 @10:53AM (#5304887)
I think that's a distinction without a difference.

Whether the government taxes you less, pays you directly, or puts tariffs on your foreign competitors, it all amounts to a subsidy in the end.

(And I don't disagree that it's a foolish idea.)

Re:Green Scream: The Decay of the Hollywood Special Effects ... by vy8vWJlco on Friday March 01, 2013 @10:13AM (#5304580)
The parts that are still free to do so, like nodes on the Internet, route around them. (Or, if you prefer, "avoid them like the plague.")