[tehwebguy]

Old and busted: Sorry Tolkien estate, the LoTR movies didn’t turn a profit so we have no backend for you (because we spent a billion dollars on marketing though one of our shell companies).

New hotness: Sorry IRS, our entire business didn’t turn a profit so we don’t owe taxes (because we sent $5 billion in ransoms to one of our shell companies).

[Scoundreller]

Similar thing happened in Canada. A uranium miner set up a shell company in Switzerland and sold its future production to them at a market low. If the price went up, all of the profits shifted. If it went down, the subsidiary would go bankrupt and void the contract.

The shell can shift its profits tax-free back to the Canadian parent.