Burger King is close to a deal that would acquire Tim Horton’s (Canada’s huge corporate version of Dunkin’ Donuts). It is more than a corporate expansion however. The move would allow Burger King to justify a “tax inversion” where an American company merges with a foreign company and then reincorporates abroad to fell under a more beneficial corporate tax rate. So long as shareholders of the Canadian companies end up owning at least 20% of the shares of the new parent company, you can escape the high corporate tax rate. I have previously criticized the corporate tax rate — and tax policies in general — as irrational in light of the lower rates in nearby countries. During the last campaign, even Obama admitted that our corporate tax rate is too high but there was never action to reduce it. The White House however recently asked for legislation to stop the inversion maneuver while Senator Sherrod Brown is calling for a boycott of Burger King.
We have previously discussed tax policies on this blog, though I am in the minority in criticizing the rising tax rates in states and cities. I have long been more conservative on tax and spending issues than many here, but I have enjoyed the different viewpoints. Companies and citizens are rational actors. When cities and countries have raised taxes to unacceptably high levels, they have seen an exodus of top taxpayers (which worsen the over tax base). Almost fifty companies have carried out inversion to avoid our high corporate rate and the pace is quickening.
Unfortunately, it remains popular to blame top earners and companies for not paying enough and to seek higher and higher taxes like they are a captive audience. The result of this approach has been disastrous in France. As they previously discussed how top earners are fleeing France in the wake of massive tax increased under Socialist French President Francois Hollande. Hollande’s popularity is now down to the teens (17 percent) and more importantly his economy is on life support. He just dissolved his government as businesses shutdown in the country and his economy contracts. The European Union is demanding reforms from the high spending and high tax approach.
In our country, we have continued to ignore the fact that other Western countries offer a far better deal for corporations. Canada’s corporate rate is 15%. Even when you add the 11.5% rate for Ontario, that is just 26.5% compared to our rate of 35%.
In a comparison of developed countries to what companies pay in the U.S., Canada requires only 53.6% of the U.S. tax burden while the U.K. is only 66.6% and the Netherlands require only 74.5%.
None of this tends to matter when politicians continue to campaign on the notion that corporations are not paying enough taxes and corporate welfare. I agree with some of these criticisms of tax loopholes and I have been a critic of government buyouts and subsidies. However, tax politics continues to rage in the absence of objective discourse. We cannot expect large corporations, particularly publicly held corporations, to remain headquartered in this country when our allies offer substantially lower tax burdens. That does not mean that we should engage in a race to the bottom with the Harper Administration in Canada. We still have many things to offer companies, but the rate of inversions is precisely what many people warned about when our corporate rate outpaced many of our Western partners.
The true impact of these tax policies will be brought home when they start serving mayonnaise with the fries at BK.
Source: Forbes
Again Darren, I can agree with everything you’ve just stated. However, when there is chronic abuse of civility rules on a daily basis and one sees unequal enforcement, that in itself brings down the integrity of the entire blog.
“Yes indeed, but why announce some deletions and not other’s?”
~+~
That is the prerogative of this and other sites’ administrators.”
Again, the question would be moot if situations were not created by engaging in writings risking deletion. Most commentators on here do not need worry about deletion jurisprudence because they do not partake in behavior causing sanctions.
Most here haven’t experienced a comment deletion. There are much fewer who have once or so and learned from the experience and have not since engaged in such activities, amounting to good commentators. A few took exception to their comment being deleted and elected to pursue other interests and forums elsewhere.
But of all of those who have many deletions despite corrections, warnings and deletions both announced or summary, some reflection can be good by enumerating the number of comments one has had deleted and recognize that it is apparent that this type of behavior is not conducive to harmony on the blog and beckons other strife of the same nature.
There have been readily established ways in which a comment is deleted, one can learn from it, or choose not to and continue in the tempest that can easily be swam out of. It is not difficult.
Moreover, Professor Turley should be respected in his wishes of those visiting here to not draw down his site. He advocates much and having the voice to do so, but permitting the degrading of his website by those engaging in banter between others based solely on one-up-man-ship and brinkmanship by pushing the violation of the civility policy hurts his effort to bring credibility to his site and by extension his professional advocacy.
One only has to try to achieve a higher level of decorum and better themselves here. People’s arguments have more credibility when they are civil and not carried away by vindictiveness and finger pointing. And if baseness continues from the opposing side, let it go.
You might not be able to control their behavior but you certainly can control yours.
Those having difficulty being civil can choose to start anew and present themselves as respectable, or they can neglect to be and suffer the benefits of their actions. A person’s reputation is usually deserved.
BK is reeling, you’re right laser. But, McDonalds would like to deliver a knockout blow. See, you can stay on topic.
Annie
Please email me Laser dot haas at Yah
There goes the censor bot again.
BK doesn’t need any boycott -the chain is already dead;
your just watching the operation of slicing it up
in real time!
Nick;
That’s the difference between you and I. Your pain as a victim, would never have to suffer the slings & arrows of my bias toward Progressiveness, for the sake of my side being superior to your side of the line in the sand.
Warren Buffet lost me as a follower, with his profiteering this deal;
because boycotting of BK isn’t necessary – the chain is already dead.
(Just walk into a Burger King during lunch or dinner – and you’ll see).
I have the right to be obsessed; because Mitt is rotten to the core.
My own attorney emailed me a threat, in 2004 – to “back off” or else;
and then my daughter was abducted on my birthday.
Larry Reynold’s laundered $12 Billion for the racketeers (Petters Ponzi scheme) while he was inside WISTEC (after he sat less than 25 feet away from me during the eToys efforts). Most likely, Larry (whose real name is Reservitz) dealt himself into the game – offering me up on a platter.
eToys shareholder (Robert Alber) was offered a bribe like I was; and also turned it down. They told him “People like you who turn downs bribes – usually wakes up dead”. Then Alber’s lifetime friend/co-owner of their Kingman, AZ house – walked away (vanished) into thin air – just before career criminal Michael Sesseyoff tried to kill Alber.
Though Robert Alber shot/killed Sesseyoff;
the betrayal of trust by a life time friend – has destroyed his will to fight.
Marty Lackner is DEAD; and was involved in Petters Ponzi also. His brother was MN Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Lackner (head of criminal division). Marty died before I got his story – of a purported suicide.
The very fact that Petters is a $50 billion Ponzi they report as ONLY $3.7 Billion – with a brother of an Asst. U.S. Attorney involved – is telltale!
John (Jack) Wheeler is dead (hit in the head and thrown in a dump) after he walked into the Nemours Bldg, New Year’s Eve 2010 (same year Alber saga).
Nemours Bldg houses the US Attorney and former Colm Connolly’s office; plus Colm’s new office (at Morgan Lewis).
If I said a guy walked into a corrupt US Attorney’s office, in the Capone case – wound up dead in the dump WHERE’s the 1st place you would look for suspect?
Colm’s tenure as Mitt’s law firm partner, was 1999 to August 2001;
and Romney claims to be “retroactively” retired August 2001
back to February 11, 1999.
I reported this to the corruption of Connolly, to the public corruption task force in Los Angeles, on December 7, 2007. Then – 12 weeks later (when my answer was due) they SHUT DOWN the task force and (reportedly) threatened career federal prosecutors to keep their mouths shut – OR ELSE
See “Shake-up roils federal prosecutors” L.A. Times – March 2008.
Had my “obsession” been previously successful;
then Alber, Lackner and Wheeler homicides wouldn’t have transpired.
You don’t want to hear these facts – only because it’s your side of the line;
and that you take pride in such – is absolutely mind boggling.
Again – if these facts were against Obama;
you would be calling for a lynch mob.
As for me – I’m going to become Eric Holder’s number 1 enemy;
because he bragged that NO One’s Too Big To Jail.
What are you going to say then?
If you applaud the fact I’m going to take Holder to court to make him honor his public promise;
you’ll be agreeing with the culpable condemnation of your precious Mitt!
You dang right I’m obsessed
————————– with stopping Organized Crime success via Corruption!
N’est-ce pas!
LaserDLiquidator, I retrieved your comment at 12:05 from the spam filter.
I see HuffPo, Kos, and other blogs of that ilk are calling for a boycott of Burger King. I bet McDonald’s is using payola to fuel this.
Myself and others have pointed out how the left’s favorite billionaire, Warren Buffet, is financing this deal. But, they’re silent!
I think there’s hope for you, laser. You have smarts, you’re just obsessed,
Laser, I know of a compulsive obsessive liar who has gotten away with murder on this blog. I won’t comment any further on it as its probably lose to tit for tat deletion.
Could be more, those are ones I know of, she uses @ least 6 aliases.
laser, I know a woman who has been run out of @ least 3 blogs, and is working on 4.
The first step in solving a problem is admitting you have one,
Thanks Laser, you’re a wise man, as is Chuck. It infuriates me to see anyone here so maligned and disrespected by a resident lowlife and daily trouble maker.
Annie
I was booted (bojo’d) off Dailykos. My antagonists included a venerate of the realm n his bag of followers (all from the legal profession) who lied (and in my opine were duplicitous) in trying to get Mitt elected.
Thev infuriated me with their ignorant BS;
and baited me i n to a battle rigged.
I lost my following by wasting time with n bias ppl.
Please don’t be baited by ignorance
Take the high road my heart sees you upo
and simply reign truth n logic pure
Down upon them.
Darren, You have the patience of Job, as does JT.
Does someone here besides Professor Turley have deletion privileges?
Yes indeed, but why announce some deletions and not other’s?
Fairness can be achieved by not engaging in submitting comments that result in deletion.
Ah Laser and Chuck, I adore you both. I wish that there would be a bit more equity in the deletion process, but hey I wish I was 20 again, lol. ( Not really, I earned my silver hair)