[rev_d]

What's also quite gross about this is that we have large multinationals paying zero in taxes to the US government, but there are small businesses owned by overseas US citizens that are being subjected to both resident country & US tax due to the US being "unique" in its practice of taxing overseas citizens.

If you're small, you get hit by the tax. If you're big enough for creative structuring, you're fine.

It's just as disgusting when you get down to individual tax. Larger companies are for the most part taxed territorially (where they make the money) while individuals are fully (and often in ways that are incompatible with local market practice) liable for US taxes, even if they live outside the US.

[pc86]

It's only "quite gross" if you have a... gross misunderstanding of how taxes work. They're not paying zero taxes on profit, they haven't profited yet except on arbitrary time scales. Here's a... gross oversimplification:

Year 1: Lose $50 million. Total profit: -$50 million. $0 taxes paid.

Year 2: Lose $10 million. Total profit: -$60 million. $0 taxes paid.

Year 3: Make $35 million. Total profit: -$25 million. $0 taxes paid. People who are either uninformed or petulant ideologues scream about you not paying taxes on $35 million in profit.

[rev_d]

The big thing with the multinationals is that they're able to pull stunts like corporate inversions & royalty payments to their foreign entity to reduce their profit under the (more heavily taxed) US entity.

Then you have measures intended to rein them in like GILTI & Transition Tax, which end up mostly affecting smaller businesses.