03 Sep 2007
Will the Pope Declare Google Evil?

Gag me! The Catholic Church, and organized religion in general, are the biggest bunch of tax dodgers on the planet. None of their "profits" and none of their property are subject to taxation in the US, and most Western Eurpopean countries actively supporting them with tax dollars.

You'd get a lot more cred on the street, Bennie, if you enclosed a check for back taxes with your latest "soak the rich" rant.

In the next few days, Pope Benedict XVI plans to issue his second encyclical, in which he is expected to denounce the use of tax havens as socially unjust and immoral in that they cheat the greater well-being of society. He is also expected to argue that the globalized economic world needs to be regulated. Prime technology companies playing the offshore 'profit laundering' game include Dell, Google, Microsoft, and Sun, who set up subsidiaries in Ireland, where the corporate tax rate is a low 12.5% and no taxes are charged on royalties (e.g. from patents).

(link) [Slashdot]

07:12 /Politics | 2 comments | permanent link