The IRS Tried to Take on the Ultrawealthy – It Didn’t Go Well
Re: the term "abuse" rather than a more concrete term like "violation."<p>About 10 years back, Bono (of U2) was being interviewed on irish tv. They asked about U2's business interests (real estate and hotels), taxes, and overseas holding companies... with a "<i>why don't you pay taxes in ireland</i>" implication.<p>Bono started with a generic "<i>U2 is a Businezss</i>" answer but he ended with a (IMO) an honest point that people avoid making.. because it's kind of an admission of guilt:<p>"Look... We (ireland) manipulate our tax rules for all sorts of gain^. How can it be ok for the country but not U2?"<p>We're an extreme example, but not that extreme. American politicians have also been big believers in complex tax reforms/policies as a way of tweaking all sorts of economic results.<p>We can't have it both ways. Either we have a "the rules are the rules" approach or we have a principled approach. You can't appeal to the "spirit" of a soulless ruleset.<p>^We have a highly "engineered" tax system, designed to encourage foreign revenue to be silmultaneously booked and not booked in ireland. >30% of ireland's gdp is Leprechaun money, according to Paul Krugman & some oecd economists. It's here, but not real. Try to touch it, and it will vanish.<p>A lot of these rules relate to IP which is why the biggest companies utlizing irish tax shenanigans are apple, google and other techcos. Music is also IP.