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View Full Version : Google's tax avoidance is called 'capitalism', says chairman Eric Schmidt



Delenda Carthago
13th December 2012, 18:49
Google chairman Eric Schmidt has insisted that he is "very proud" of the company's tax structure, and said that measures to lower its payments were just "capitalism".

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02153/google_2153570b.jpg Mr Schmidt's comments risk inflaming the row over the amount of tax multinationals pay, after it emerged that Google funnelled $9.8bn of revenues from international subsidiaries into Bermuda last year in order to halve its tax bill. Photo: Bloomberg News







By Telegraph Staff

6:50PM GMT 12 Dec 2012
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/template/ver1-0/i/share/comments.gif1589 Comments (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/9739039/Googles-tax-avoidance-is-called-capitalism-says-chairman-Eric-Schmidt.html#disqus_thread)


Mr Schmidt's comments risk inflaming the row over the amount of tax multinationals pay, after it emerged that Google funnelled $9.8bn (6.07bn) of revenues from international subsidiaries into Bermuda (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/tax/9735448/Google-avoided-2bn-tax-by-funnelling-profits-through-Bermunda.html) last year in order to halve its tax bill.

However, Mr Schmidt defended the company's legitimate tax arrangements. We pay lots of taxes; we pay them in the legally prescribed ways, he told Bloomberg. I am very proud of the structure that we set up. We did it based on the incentives that the governments offered us to operate.

Its called capitalism, he said. We are proudly capitalistic. Im not confused about this.

In Britain Vince Cable was unimpressed by Mr Schmidts views. The Business Secretary told The Daily Telegraph: It may well be [capitalism] but its certainly not the job of governments to accommodate it.

A Californian pressure group called Consumer Watchdog wrote to the Senates Finance Committee demanding a hearing on Googles global tax avoidance strategies (http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/ltrbaucus121212.pdf). (http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/ltrbaucus121212.pdf)

TheRedAnarchist23
13th December 2012, 23:19
All big companies, and rich people, avoid paying taxes, even portuguese ones!

Paul Pott
14th December 2012, 00:02
That's precious.

Catma
14th December 2012, 00:03
Hey poor people avoid paying taxes too! We just get fucked when we get caught.

RebelDog
14th December 2012, 07:07
The Business Secretary told The Daily Telegraph: It may well be [capitalism] but its certainly not the job of governments to accommodate it.

Could have fooled me.

Domela Nieuwenhuis
14th December 2012, 19:30
It's not the tax-avoidence that is capitalist. Google is capitalist! Period.

ed miliband
14th December 2012, 19:33
well... it's kind of true. this is a good article on the futility of activism simply targeting tax avoidance:

http://libcom.org/blog/tax-justice-austerity-class-struggle-05122012

bricolage
14th December 2012, 20:50
google ceo in better analysis of tax avoidance than liberal left shocker.

Ocean Seal
14th December 2012, 21:00
It is capitalism. I agree with milliband on this one, there is no use to organizing against google not paying taxes, but its good that it at least riles liberals somewhat.

Lucretia
16th December 2012, 04:46
Economically powerful people and institutions manipulating the state to advance their interests further, often with the goal of competing effectively no matter the social costs, is what capitalism is all about. In that respect, the executive is right.

It's the people who subscribe to the mythical meritocratic "capitalism" fantasized about by 18th century philosophers and present-day libertarians that might think the executive's comments are ridiculous (or at least, ridiculous enough to start a thread about). We call these people confused liberals.

Yet_Another_Boring_Marxist
16th December 2012, 04:55
Why do capitalists have to be dicks about it? I mean sure, it makes us sound like consperisy theorists, but heck, even I sometimes have dreams about living in a nice world where we can reform capitalism and live in harmony