The idea of tax avoidance
Tax avoidance is the legitimate minimizing of taxes and maximizes after-tax income, using methods included in the tax code. especially the issues of base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), those are the basic tools of tax avoidance! Businesses avoid taxes by taking all legitimate deductions and tax credits and by sheltering income from taxes by setting up employee retirement plans and other means.
Base Erosion and Profit shifting (BEPS)
BEPS refers to tax planning strategies that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax locations where there is little or no economic activity or to erode tax bases through deductible payments such as interest or royalties. Although some of the schemes used are illegal, most are not. This undermines the fairness and integrity of tax systems because businesses that operate across borders can use BEPS to gain a competitive advantage over enterprises that operate at a domestic level. Moreover, when taxpayers see multinational corporations legally avoiding income tax, it undermines voluntary compliance by all taxpayers.👎👎
BEPS is of major significance for developing countries due to their heavy reliance on corporate income tax, particularly from multinational enterprises. Engaging developing countries in the international tax agenda is important to ensure that they receive support to address their specific needs and can effectively participate in the process of standard-setting on international tax.👍👍
Read this --- Three channels of profit shifting
There are three main channels that multinationals can use to shift profits out of high-tax countries:💁
- Debt shifting
- Registering intangible assets such as copyright or trademarks in tax havens
- A technique is known as “strategic transfer pricing”.
Although many research defined tax evasion is illegal, and tax avoidance is legal
My consideration and idea of tax avoidance are...💬💬💬
- It involves operating within the letter, but not the spirit, of the law
- is an abuse of the tax system
- a deliberate attempt to get out of an obligation to pay tax
- Tax avoidance is unethical in that it seeks to undermine tax law and public policy
- most tax avoidance is unlawful in the true meaning of the word. That is that the tax arrangements in question should be disregarded in the eyes of the law when calculating tax liability
Hi, I extremely agree with what you guys' thinking; that tax avoidance is extremely injustice. Because as you said in the article, tax avoidance will give an edge to MNCs compared to local firms; I strongly opine that might widen the wealth gap between the rich and poor. And the act will have a negative externalities on the ordinary citizens as well as the local SMEs because it will reduce the government's income, thus curtailing the funding on various public projects. The MNCs, however, can gain more profits by committing these acts. It is just immoral.
回覆刪除However, I do not agree with hat you guys saying that it might undermine compliance by all taxpayers. I think that the local authority process enough resources to force their citizens to pay taxes, for instances, by using police force or excluding them from utilizing public services, and they have little room to conduct tax avoidance given their limited financial income. The government, on the other hand, cannot use this method to force the MNCs to pay their taxes because they are just too powerful that they have some departments specializing to lobbying the officials(bribing, funding regarding the election). Hence they always let them go, do not fix the loopholes of the tax law.
Lai Wai Ching
刪除I understand what you say, you are saying the MNCs have big power and many money, so the local government may not intervene or force them to pay tax. But I think this is an Ostrich strategy and let the MNCs extent his power and rights by not taken the responsibility. Indulge MNCs use the loopholes to avoid tax, they will never obey any local government instruction, it is because local government too soft and thinks tax avoidance is not a big deal.
what I think is they can use education/ media promotion to let the public know MNCs have the responsibility to pay tax. If MNCs don't pay, let the public boycott and critic them. Also, provide incentive, if the MNCs, pay tax on time.
Tax avoidance is just a less evil trick of tax evasion. Yet one is legal and the later one is illegal. I contend the point of tax avoiding is unethical and it turns out the same as tax evasion. However, it is not really the responsibility of companies but the government. I look at the issue in another way. The company itself is aiming to avoid tax so they shift their base. The government itself aims for grabbing money from businessman so they claim they have the right to collect tax. Take China as an example, Ma Yun, Ma Hua Tang their companies are forced to publicly-owned. The government must have the right to fetch money from various channel. Not just from tax. Therefore, I assent the presence of tax avoiding. To let those MNC have a lifesaver in this world of hardship.
回覆刪除Lee Kin FUng Group4
刪除Lai Wai Ching
刪除You have pointed out the company itself is aiming to avoid tax to make more profit, I think this is absolutely correct, but Profit does not mean everything, we cannot ignore tax avoiding is not supported by the local citizens, they may protest to criticism the company lack of social responsibility. Also, pay tax to excite the local economic, then people have the buying power to consume, it is a win-win situation.