Thursday, October 9, 2014

Tax Tactics Threaten Public Funds

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/business/economy/multinational-tax-strategies-put-public-coffers-at-risk.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7B%222%22%3A%22RI%3A12%22%7D


Despite the Obama administration’s new rules to prevent so-called corporate inversions, where companies move their tax residency abroad, companies like Burger King and Medtronic are still dropping their American “citizenship” to reduce their tax liability.

They are not alone.Google and Facebook move money through Ireland to lower their taxes. Starbucks uses the Netherlands, a practice that is under review by Europe as well.

Governments that turned a blind eye to the tax avoidance of their multinational champions to give them a competitive edge against foreign rivals  now should be under enormous pressure from voters to prove that it’s not only workers and dupes paying taxes.