Posted on 10/27/2009 11:27:46 AM PDT by antiRepublicrat
After King County Superior Court Judge Gregory Canova awarded Microsoft an $8.7 million judgment in a 2008 lawsuit involving unpaid software licenses, he might have been surprised to learn that Microsoft isn’t actually in the software licensing business in Washington – or at least that’s what it reports to the state Department of Revenue.
For tax purposes, Microsoft reports that it’s earned its estimated $143 billion in software licensing revenue in Nevada, where there is no licensing tax. However, for legal purposes, Microsoft executes its licensing contracts so they are governed by and rely on the protections of Washington law and its courts (some regional contracts are governed by the laws in Ireland or China).
When necessary, as in the case Microsoft Licensing GP v. TSR Silicon Resources, which lasted two years, Microsoft uses the resources of Washington courts to enforce its licensing contracts. It does this while simultaneously dodging the taxes it would normally pay for engaging in the software licensing business in Washington - the same taxes that fund the courts.
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.reifman.org ...
With the thumb of big brother weighing down, a business has to find a way to operate that creates a maximum return possible without breaking the law. From reading this, everything they did was legal, it is just one of those things that the press can spin to make it look like they are crooks.
Exactly.
The IRS itself encourages every taxpayer to use every LEGAL means to reduce their tax bills.
There is nothing unusual in a business incorporating in a tax friendly state or aligning their units within states that provide maximum return or least expense based on regulations and taxation.
“Wah! Wah! We passed a law to take your money and you moved your corporate papers to a state that charges less. It’s not fair!”
Typical liberal journalist spinning it to be those evil corporations trying to weasel out of poor people’s money.
The B&O tax in WA is among the stupidest and most crippling taxes ever conceived. It’s no wonder that people go to extreme measures to avoid it.
There’s the bit about how the tiny licensing tax pays for the court system that Microsoft uses to enforce its rights. Microsoft wants the Washington State court system to help it enforce their rights, but they don’t want to pay for that service.
It’s like dodging the local tax that pays for the fire department, yet still expecting them to come when your house is on fire.
That reminds me of some liberals who say you should smile, bend over, and accept their taxes because you drive on roads.
Because the billion dollar Marxist somehow just isn’t rich enough and yet he hires scabs from overseas so he doesn’t have to pay market wages.
If the Gates Foundation didn’t work to raise MY taxes, I might not care so much.
You gotta be kidding me.
Microsoft pays more taxes in Washington State than any other company in that state. Payroll taxes from Microsoft employees, plus the taxes that Washington State has taken from all those millionaires and billionaires that Microsoft has created in that state, alone have been massive.
Like others have pointed out, its incumbent upon every corporate entity, to use every LEGAL means to pay as little taxes as they can.
Why on earth should Microsoft hand out more money than they should, to a bunch of tax and spend loony left crazies who govern Washington State, when the Governor herself, originally got “ elected” by blatantly stealing the elections in broad daylight, 5 years ago?
Pretty much.
The loony left are always eager to spend other people's money, on stupid stuff like the recent buying cell phones for the “too lazy to work” brigade, promoting gay marriage, and other affirmative action programs.
I'd be very interested in having a look at this guy who wrote the article's tax returns. There is a pretty good chance(if I know liberals), that he is another Charlie Rangel, demanding that others pay more than their fair share of taxes, even while he himself keeps dodging his taxes for years.
If ALL taxes were eliminated and replaced with the Fair Tax, everyone would be better off.
Fair tax, flat tax, just something that takes the forty thousand pages of tax code and reduces it down to fifteen lines is fine by me.
If those specific taxes go to pay for those roads, yes. I don't like freeloaders. If you use the service then you should pay, otherwise the rest of us taxpayers are supporting you.
Thus the point of this article, whether or not it's legal. The tax man does not like it when you use a shell game to hide income. It's quite obvious that the Nevada entity is a shell.
Why all the sudden the compassion for tax cheats? Did Rangle and Obama's cabinet really change us that much?
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20030127/gates
An article entitled “Long Live the Estate Tax”, by Bill Gates, Sr. on the board of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
I know we are all hypocrites, but these guys take the cake.
You know, if these super rich liberals want the government to have so much money, why don’t they just give it to them. And why is there a Gates Foundation anyway? They should just give it to the government because the gov’t. knows what is best to do with the money anyways!?
Because it gives them a tax dodge to give money to a charity that they sit on.
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