&gt; I imagine that were I in their shoes, I&#x27;d be fairly confident that I could do more good for the world by private philanthropy, directed to causes that I felt compelling, than by fueling general government spending&#x2F;avarice around the world.<p>I think that is beside the point. These companies are violating the spirit of law, not the letter of the law, when they avoid taxes. Take for example, the recent Pfizer&#x2F;Allergen merger which happened merely for tax-avoidance reasons. It&#x27;s legal, but it&#x27;s totally uncalled for and it&#x27;s clear to see why: a lot of what Pfizer stands on is from NIH-funded research, it&#x27;s from us the tax-payers. Pfizer should have played fair by paying back, so NIH can fund even more studies, so that more people are employed, so that academia has more breathing room, etc.