'America is on the wrong side of history'

[Paradoxum]

"In a report presented to the International Conference on Financing for Development, we unanimously agreed that the current system is broken, and that minor tweaks will not fix it. We proposed an alternative – similar to the way corporations are taxed within the US, with profits allocated to each state on the basis of the economic activity occurring within state borders."

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/aug/06/joseph-stiglitz-america-wrong-side-of-history

To make sure multinational corporations pay tax, wouldn't it make sense to have a global taxes fairly distributed based on service use?

 

[Dave-W]

To make sure multinational corporations pay tax, wouldn't it make sense to have a global taxes fairly distributed based on service use?

Would that not require a "one world government" to administer?

Almost every country I know of has a constitution that accepts no outside overseers, except by specific treaty agreements.

That said, I had a job right out of college at a company which is now a multinational. I was assigned to a small group of engineers and techs called "Special Projects Engineering." It was a fun job (got to do R&D on many industrial and product problems). My boss was the son of the owner who NOW is the owner and CEO. He moved the company HQ from Michigan to Grand Cayman to avoid taxes.

BTW - that Special Projects group developed this stair-step cup. I did R&D on the foam density.

 

[Paradoxum]

Would that not require a "one world government" to administer?

Why? Why wouldn't the UN vote on it and set up a some institution to sort it out (along with national governments)?

Almost every country I know of has a constitution that accepts no outside overseers, except by specific treaty agreements.

Well there is the EU, as well as various other 'unions' which influence the included nations (South America, Arab, and African). EU countries get some laws from the EU.

That said, I had a job right out of college at a company which is now a multinational. I was assigned to a small group of engineers and techs called "Special Projects Engineering." It was a fun job (got to do R&D on many industrial and product problems). My boss was the son of the owner who NOW is the owner and CEO. He moved the company HQ from Michigan to Grand Cayman to avoid taxes.

BTW - that Special Projects group developed this stair-step cup. I did R&D on the foam density.

I bet the cups are amazing.

 

[RC1970]

Would that not require a "one world government" to administer?

Almost every country I know of has a constitution that accepts no outside overseers, except by specific treaty agreements.

That said, I had a job right out of college at a company which is now a multinational. I was assigned to a small group of engineers and techs called "Special Projects Engineering." It was a fun job (got to do R&D on many industrial and product problems). My boss was the son of the owner who NOW is the owner and CEO. He moved the company HQ from Michigan to Grand Cayman to avoid taxes.

BTW - that Special Projects group developed this stair-step cup. I did R&D on the foam density.

What is the cost of living differential between Michigan and the Grand Caymans? And, is it worth the tax savings?

What is the half-life of a foam cup?

 

[Aryeh Jay]

What is the cost of living differential between Michigan and the Grand Caymans? And, is it worth the tax savings?

What is the half-life of a foam cup?

With my retirement check, I would live like a king in the Grand Caymans instead of starving in style in Michigan.

 

[Dave-W]

What is the cost of living differential between Michigan and the Grand Caymans?

Cost of living is probably higher in Grand Cayman. Michigan has one of the lowest costs of living in the US.

And, is it worth the tax savings?

Well, since GC has NO income tax and NO corporate tax, the savings are HUGE. There are also much fewer regulations so there are savings there as well.

What is the half-life of a foam cup?

If memory serves, it is on the order of several centuries. The good news is that the consumer cups I worked on there only use about 60% of the material that the standard J series (or their H series predecessors) cups use.

 

[Crowns&Laurels]

If the UK spent half the money we do patrolling the world, they'd be in the same boat America's in now.

There's a reason for every opinion the UK tries to hold against the US which cause me to not take them seriously. Our system works, it just isn't fairing well due to other problems, which frankly no one takes issue with when we drop a big dose of liberty on something. Only during peacetime, it seems

 

[GrowingSmaller]

I am persnally campaigning for supermarkets to offer health advice. A healthy customer is a good long term base for profits. I told this to a check out girl!

Money matters, tv's matter. Its all the rage. Yet...

These matters are all derived values, derived from the value of human being. Is it too big a risk to take - to say we care about you as well as your money?

 

[OldWiseGuy]

"In a report presented to the International Conference on Financing for Development, we unanimously agreed that the current system is broken, and that minor tweaks will not fix it. We proposed an alternative – similar to the way corporations are taxed within the US, with profits allocated to each state on the basis of the economic activity occurring within state borders."

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/aug/06/joseph-stiglitz-america-wrong-side-of-history

To make sure multinational corporations pay tax, wouldn't it make sense to have a global taxes fairly distributed based on service use?

This requires a global currency......the (gasp) mark of the beast!

 

[OldWiseGuy]

"In a report presented to the International Conference on Financing for Development, we unanimously agreed that the current system is broken, and that minor tweaks will not fix it.

Minor tweaks, consistently applied, will fix it over time.

 

[LionL]

no one takes issue with when we drop a big dose of liberty on something. Only during peacetime, it seems

I beg to differ. There were thousands of us demonstrating on the streets when you "dropped a big dose of liberty" on Iraq for having non existent weapons (which the US actually does have). What an improvement you made to that country!

 

[GrowingSmaller]

Meh. Lets bond.

 

[Armoured]

If the UK spent half the money we do patrolling the world, they'd be in the same boat America's in now.

There's a reason for every opinion the UK tries to hold against the US which cause me to not take them seriously. Our system works, it just isn't fairing well due to other problems, which frankly no one takes issue with when we drop a big dose of liberty on something. Only during peacetime, it seems

Oh, you're so heroically self sacrificing and noble. Thank you for making the World safe for the rest of us lesser mortals.

 

[Oafman]

Globalisation has made corporate taxation a race to the bottom. Each country offering better and better terms to corporations, until eventually they get to operate more or less for free.

The only way out is a truly global agreement on how profits are taxed, as Stiglitz suggests. But the reality is, we can't even get this done within the EU, where countries like Luxembourg and Ireland continue to offer corporations a place through which they can channel all their European profits and pay very little tax on them. Given that this challenge has not been met in the EU, which has institutions set up to reach this kind of agreement, I'm not sure what hope there is for the world.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Globalisation has made corporate taxation a race to the bottom. Each country offering better and better terms to corporations, until eventually they get to operate more or less for free.

The only way out is a truly global agreement on how profits are taxed, as Stiglitz suggests. But the reality is, we can't even get this done within the EU, where countries like Luxembourg and Ireland continue to offer corporations a place through which they can channel all their European profits and pay very little tax on them. Given that this challenge has not been met in the EU, which has institutions set up to reach this kind of agreement, I'm not sure what hope there is for the world.

The latest scandal is the ill-gotten gains of criminals and others used to buy up choice real estate in London as a way to protect their money. Criminals control vast amounts of every currency. They cannot be controlled and thus any attempt to bring order to the global economy will fail. This conversion of money to other assets even thwarts the single one-world currency idea. Of course the value of everyone's assets could be taxed, but there are way too many assets to do that. Of course only certain assets could be taxed, but then....................(insert another problem).

 

[Oafman]

The latest scandal is the ill-gotten gains of criminals and others used to buy up choice real estate in London as a way to protect their money. Criminals control vast amounts of every currency. They cannot be controlled and thus any attempt to bring order to the global economy will fail. This conversion of money to other assets even thwarts the single one-world currency idea. Of course the value of everyone's assets could be taxed, but there are way too many assets to do that. Of course only certain assets could be taxed, but then....................(insert another problem).

This is a scandal. There was an investigative show on TV here recently where a guy pretended to be a Russian minister who wanted to buy expensive London property, and he outright told the estate agents showing them around that the cash had been stolen from his ministerial budget. All on secret camera. The makers of trhe show wanted to see how many of the agents reported this, or even just refused to deal with the guy. None of them did.

Britain has turned a blind eye to the behaviour of oligarchs for far too long. But they're quite generous with political donations, so don't hold your breath waiting for action.

 

[Crowns&Laurels]

Oh, you're so heroically self sacrificing and noble. Thank you for making the World safe for the rest of us lesser mortals.

I don't harbor American supremacy, but sometimes the facts just have to come out- America spends a whole lot of it's money on it's military, which is more than half of all military costs the world over combined.
So when someone scrutinizes the financial situation of America, and that is left out of it, it's nothing for me to take much concern with because it's just elementary bashing. Th UK has been doing that for a long time, be it gun control, the death penalty, the economy, and so on.

 

[Armoured]

I don't harbor American supremacy, but sometimes the facts just have to come out- America spends a whole lot of it's money on it's military, which is more than half of all military costs the world over combined.
So when someone scrutinizes the financial situation of America, and that is left out of it, it's nothing for me to take much concern with because it's just elementary bashing. Th UK has been doing that for a long time, be it gun control, the death penalty, the economy, and so on.

I don't follow. Are you saying American military expenditure means it should be exempt from criticism over gun control, the death penalty, the economy, and so on?

 

[Crowns&Laurels]

I don't follow. Are you saying American military expenditure means it should be exempt from criticism over gun control, the death penalty, the economy, and so on?

The death penalty helps to reduce costs instead of providing for murderers, and gun control compartmentalizes the military.

 

[Desk trauma]

The death penalty helps to reduce costs instead of providing for murderers...

Actually capital case prosecution costs more then life sentences.