[fredoliveira]

See but they do pay their taxes. They just use loopholes to pay less taxes.

[lomnakkus]

That's basically a distinction without meaning.

The whole reason for taxes is that it helps the collective -- sometimes at the expense of the individual.

[Frondo]

Let me ask you then, do you think it's right that the tax burden is on those locally-run frozen yogurt places, over the extremely well-off multinationals like Apple? Is that the way you want to see the world run?

[fredoliveira]

Of course I don't think it's right. I was only making the point of what they do is not skip paying taxes, but effectively trick the financial system into paying as little as they can.

[sigzero]

I don't think he is saying that at all. Of course Apple is going to use every loophole they find. They are a business and that business is making money. The only way to fix it is to remove the loopholes.

[coldtea]

>The only way to fix it is to remove the loopholes.

Or you know, to have the people running the business have a sense of ethics.

[Frondo]

Well, yeah. Like, if your company is headquartered in Cupertino, maybe then act like it when tax time comes and pay your US and California taxes.

Setting up a nesting doll stack of shell corporations to dodge all that is, right now, legal, but is that the world I'd want to have a hand in building? Nope.

[hugh4]

Ethically your responsibility is to the shareholders who have given you their money to invest, not to some random government.

The governments of the world aren't doing a good enough job with the money I'm already giving them for me to start thinking about donating more.