Twitter Tax Controversy Explained In Cartoon Form

theodp writes "If you prefer to digest your news in a cartoon format, you'll be happy to know that the Twitter tax controversy has gotten the Next Media Animation TV treatment. In the NMAtv clip, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone cuts a tax break with San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and ascends a ladder to 'Tax-Free Haven' where he's high-fived by execs from GE and Google. If you insist on reading the news, IBD has an account of the payroll tax break, which critics are calling corporate welfare." A hilarious, but true, story. Please remember, when you see 'haven' instead of 'heaven,' that English isn't everyone's first language.

Re:Fuck IBD, the corporate whores

[Anonymous Coward]

Amazing - IBD couldn't stop fellating Big Corporate long enough to report on yet another company refusing to pay its share without getting a few kicks in at public employees.

Thing is, the amount of money I have to pay annually to Twitter: $0
The amount I have to pay to government: 40% of my salary, plus penalties if I make a mistake

So yeah, I think the activities of government deserve a bit more scrutiny.

Fucking Bullshit

[cosm]

I understand it's SOP, but I do think it is motherfucking bullshit that I pay a higher percentage of my income in taxes than these companies. And I guarantee my net is six to seven orders of magnitude less than what they bring in, which is probably true for most Americans as well. But its the welfare state that is bankrupting us they say!

Re:Fuck IBD, the corporate whores

[Anonymous Coward]

It's funny how in your world everybody but the government has to justify their "share."

Seems to be a popular opinion of late.

Re:Roblimo isn't a native English speaker?

[Paul Jakma]

It's quite obviously a visual pun on "haven" (the normal and correct term used in "tax haven") and "heaven". Which makes it clear that either Roblimo is being super-ultra-ironic, or he has failed to realise that the cartoon authors have a better grasp of english than himself.

Re:Fucking Bullshit

[Anonymous Coward]

Okay, remember, that every corporation on the planet is a tax collector, never ever has one of them paid taxes. They pay taxes, out of the money that that somebody paid them. Ultimately, all of those taxes are paid by shareholders, employees, or customers (either in the lack of dividends/profits/prices, lower salary/benefits, or the cost of goods and services respectively).

The problem you have is that you want to be ignorant of the taxes you pay. If you made every penny of tax be paid hidden from you, and have you "pay" zero taxes, it'll just be money funneled through a dozen different hands before it was used to pay taxes (and likely be taxed every time it changes hands). Personally, I'd prefer that I personally pay all my taxes, and I'd prefer that every man, woman and child in this country pay taxes, and be the only entity that does (currently most folks under a certain wage pay an effective 0 or negative tax rate in that they get more benefits from the gov't than they pay in payroll, at least directly, indirectly I'm not sure). Hopefully at that point, we could avoid the class/culture wars, and everyone could realize just how much taxes actually cost them. The folks benefiting from taxes are generally gov't employees and their friends (both high level like senators, or low level like folks that are overpaid and underutilized).

Re:Fucking Bullshit

[corbettw]

I do think it is motherfucking bullshit that I pay a higher percentage of my income in taxes than these companies

First off, the tax in question here is a payroll tax which comes out of the employees' salaries and stock options. So this is a good thing for workers at Twitter.

Second, you only pay income tax on your net income. Of course, when people piss and moan about corporations "not paying their share", they only look at their gross income. Companies can have enough expenses in a year that they essentially have no or little income, and you have to keep that in mind when looking at their tax burden.

Third, a company that is successful and hires lots of workers is going to pay into Social Security and other tax schemes through payroll taxes. So whether the corporation itself pays taxes or not, the government is still getting money from them. No one gets out of paying completely, it just doesn't happen.

Re:Fuck IBD, the corporate whores

[ShakaUVM]

I'm betting it's an AC who made up numbers he thinks proves his point. I'm not an AC. With income at $100,000 in a year, I was at 10% federal income tax, and about 20% for the sum of all taxes I paid (SS, Medicare, sales, state, local, property - multiple properties, and all that). It would be hard to reach 40% in the US. Though some people manage it, like those hit with AMT and other such weirdness. Or those who pay both halves of SS themselves (contractors) but he specifically said "salary" so that doesn't count.

http://www.paycheckcity.com/NetPayCalc/netpayCalcResult.asp [paycheckcity.com]

At $100,000 a year, you will lose 35% of your paycheck before deductions and writeoffs. Throw in the 10% state sales tax in California, and there you go.

Re:I don't post too much but

[ShakaUVM]

>>The existence of a corporation is supposed to be contingent on the public good.

I think keeping a thousand people employed in your city is a public good, right?

>>Leash the damn corporations already and stop this race to the bottom.

Leash the tax-hungry legislators that caused this mess to begin with.

The controversy was over the extra-special 1.5% of *expenses* "San Francisco Tax" Twitter would be paying over what they'd pay if they relocated 45 minutes south to San Jose. Hopefully the SF city council will realize that their hostile environment to businesses is bad for the city as a whole, and repeal the damn law.

Re:Fucking Bullshit

[Anonymous Coward]

So, why did you start an S-corp if you don't like the laws governing them?

Let me guess -- because you wanted to take any losses on your personal income tax, and gain the ability to claim things as business expenses. Seems like you're getting consideration in this deal too.

Re:I don't post too much but

[PhunkySchtuff]

Consider this: if they had just let Twitter move somewhere else, lots of jobs would be terminated.

So don't let it move. Leash the damn corporations already and stop this race to the bottom. The existence of a corporation is supposed to be contingent on the public good.

Sorry, but just how can you stop a corporation (or anyone for that matter) from getting up and moving somewhere else?

America is turning communist

[Anonymous Coward]

Why should corporations pay heavy taxes in the first place? Because you need to pay them personally and you feel unfair that the rich guys don't have to pay?

How about the other direction - if billionaires can pay low taxes, then any non-billionaire should pay none. Anyone, corporations, rich people, you or me, having to pay high taxes to feed a bunch of bureaucrats is communism. You know it's idiotic when fucking red China has lower taxes.

Re:Fucking Bullshit

[Keen Anthony]

This should be modded up, but I'll reiterate it since the poster was an AC. The parent wanted to gain the ability to claim business expenses. Having been an S-corp myself, I know the hassle of filing quarterly taxes and then doing personal on top of it. But I still came out ahead. I love the concept of an S-corp. I love that I get business expense deductions, not to mention the limited personal liability in the advent of my company being sued. I wouldn't say California is not business friendly. Many businesses thrive in California. I will accept some alternative reasons though such as: life is hard, paying taxes is a bitch no matter where you live, things cost more in California, and my favorite the Franchise Tax Board seems to be run by incompetent monkeys that really make the experience rougher than it has to be.

Re:The explanation is easy

[makomk]

Bullshit. Corporations pay for their additional burden on local utilities... by paying for the extra utilities. At power rates in California about 5x higher than the US average.

Except when they go bankrupt with bills unpaid. One of the extra benefit of being a corporation is that, when the business fails, the owners can just walk away from the bills. It's exactly this that ShakaUVM was complaining about paying an extra 1.5% tax to get - if he or she wants to avoid the extra tax, there are other ways to structure the business, but they involve personal liability for corporate debts.