Massive CEO rewards for tax dodging

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

Then the natural conclusion to your argument to cut taxes to zero, because none of that would ever be considered spending. If you're dealing with a situation where you're running a balanced budget or surplus, then cutting taxes to the point where it throws you into deficit is damn sure spending.

And the natural conclusion to your argument is to raise taxes to 100%. I made that observation back when Clinton crowed about balancing the budget. Both ideas are extreme, and extremes will kill us.

[August]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

And the natural conclusion to your argument is to raise taxes to 100%

Well of course not on his middle class union floor sweepers and stockboys. Such things are only upon the evil rich.

[MH]

Originally Posted by August

Well of course not on his middle class union floor sweepers and stockboys. Such things are only upon the evil rich.

Why don't you consider than American system went to much to extreme in its capitalistic way just as communism did the other way.
Maybe same regulation are needed to keep companies in check because well...capitalism is about opportunities and in every case that there is a way to screw the system or someone else someone will do it.
Maybe American system has outgrown itself.

I don't like unions as well.
They are OK when kept under control but given too much power turn to extortion syndicates where only the ones close to the plate benefit.

[MH]

'Aggressive tax planning is at odds with social responsibility'

Study: Big firms talk up corporate giving but scrimp on taxes.

By Ram Ozeri






The 25 leading companies on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange pay around NIS 3 billion less a year in taxes than they should be, according to the headline, or declared, corporate tax rate. That is one of the main findings of a study carried out by the Legal Clinic for Corporate Social Responsibility, part of the Academic Center of Law and Business (ACLB ) in Ramat Gan.
The researchers based their study on financial reports for 2006 to 2009 of the companies represented on the TASE TA-25 index. Many of the largest firms, their study shows, make big donations to the community in order to maintain their positive image. But when it comes to paying taxes, there is a big gap between their official tax brackets and the amounts actually paid.


The researchers will present their findings publicly for the first time today, at a conference held by ACLB in cooperation with the Jerusalem Center for Ethics. The center's director is Daniel Milo,
They are quick to note that many factors could explain this gap, including differences in tax rates from one year to the next and legitimate tax breaks granted by the state. But at least some of the differences, they say, are the result of aggressive tax planning.
The researchers also reviewed the corporate giving of these companies - the money they gave to their communities and in support of social responsibility. These numbers were considerable: Fifteen of the 25 companies on the TA-25 index reported combined annual donations of NIS 164 million to various corporate responsibility projects. Assuming that this sample was representative of the whole, they estimated the combined annual contributions of the 25 firms at NIS 274 million.
That puts the ratio of corporate community giving to the "tax expectation gap" - the difference between the headline tax rate for companies and the rate of tax they actually pay - at 1 to 11. For example, the Israel Corporation, which is controlled by the Ofer brothers, donated nearly NIS 100 million to the community from 2006-2009. On the other hand, according to the researchers' calculations (which were based on Israel Corp.'s own financial statements for the period ), the company paid NIS 1.74 billion less in taxes than its declared corporate tax rate would suggest it should have.
For this three-year period, the Israel Corp. reported profits of nearly NIS 11 billion, on which it paid NIS 1.3 billion, reflecting an effective tax rate of just 12%.
In response to the researchers' questions, the Israel Corp. noted that its tax flow payments were materially different from its total tax payments, but did not elaborate.
The researchers also noted that the list of subsidiaries of the Israel Corp. featured companies based in such locations as the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, the Virgin Islands, Switzerland and Luxembourg.
Clueless Israel Corp. said in response: "The Israel Corp. pays taxes in accordance with the law. The company has no idea on what basis the people presenting these figures reached their conclusions, but it is obvious that the figures are in error and totally incorrect, and are misleading."
As to where the company pays taxes, Israel Corp. stated: "Subsidiaries and associates of the Israel Corp. operate throughout the world and pay their taxes according to law. In addition, it must be remembered that most of the group's activities take place abroad."
The picture is similar for Nochi Dankner's IDB group. For the 2006-2009 period it paid NIS 1.8 billion, or 19%, on reported pre-tax profits of NIS 9.4 billion, compared to NIS 2.6 billion according to its headline tax rate. The difference between those amounts was more than NIS 800 million, 16 times more than the IDB group's NIS 41 million in corporate contributions for the three-year period.
In its response, the IDB group also said it pays its taxes, and that there is no connection between its taxes "and the more than NIS 400 million the group has donated since 2006 to hundreds of projects in the Galilee and the Negev, in the areas of education, welfare, health, culture and sports."
At cross-purposes "The corporations' massive spending on aggressive tax planning is not congruent with their boasts of social responsibility," says Ronit Donyets-Kedar of the ACLB.
"Paying taxes is one of our obligations, as individuals and as corporations. There are very heavy arguments against a situation where corporations underwrite opening museums up to the public, on one hand, while on the other evading their moral responsibility to fully pay their taxes," Donyets-Kedar said.
According to Donyets-Kedar, corporate responsibility goes beyond the company's meeting of its legal obligations. Corporate responsibility also means you are a useful member of society.
Jerusalem Center for Ethics director Daniel Milo said companies must remember that tax planning is a murky area of tax law.
At the core of the study is the belief that meeting tax obligations fully is like a dividend paid by the corporation in exchange for the receipt of public services such as security, transportation infrastructure and the education of its employees.

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