Multinationals Not Paying Tax Is A Legal, Fiscal & Ethical Issue – Not Just ‘Bad PR’
I nearly fell out of my chair yesterday evening when Newshub opened an item with a declaration that the Prime Minister was finally talking about multinationals dodging their fair share of Kiwi tax.
My disbelief was understandable. National has spent quite some years now basically attempting to pretend that this problem doesn’t exist. When they’re queried about this in Parliament, and just straight-up asked whether they think it’s an issue that ten billion dollars of sales generates only $1.8 MILLION dollars in taxes for the top twenty multinationals operating here … they just waffle away – and, at best, suggest that this is an international problem (which, to be fair, it is) which isn’t really solvable by New Zealand.
It’s always seemed a bit peculiar to me that our comparatively tiny country on the far side of the globe can do mighty things like bringing to a halt French nuclear testing, or thumbing our nose (and actually getting our way) when it comes to the defence policy of a superpower in our backyard … yet we apparently balk when confronted with slightly tricky issues involving medium-large corporations. It isn’t just a matter of taxation or offshore interests, either – consider the ongoing omnishambles we had attempting to wrangle Telecom to properly provide national communications infrastructure (rather than fat dividends for its shareholders) in the early 2000s.
Maybe it’s an issue of our Government lacking the requisite willpower and vision to properly deal with corporates. Perhaps they just simply don’t care.
In any case, if National WERE actually genuinely interested in getting foreign multinationals to pay their fair share of tax here, I’d be over the moon and singing their praises.
Except they’re not.
You see, what actually happened over the weekend at APEC, was John Key took Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg aside and told him he had a “PR problem”. Not, you understand, a legal problem. Not a fiscal/monetary problem. Not even, quelle surprised, an ETHICAL problem.
No, what the Government believes Facebook’s ongoing flouting of our laws and our good natured hospitality is … is a PR problem.
This is a distinction that’s presumably quite instructive. When you have legal problems … you sue (and, in the post-TPPA National Party, perhaps they’ve altogether forgotten that it’s states who can sue corporations … rather than exclusively the other way around thanks to ISDS). When you have fiscal/monetary problems, you regulate. And when you have ethical problems … you intervene.
But when you have PR problems – well, that’s different. That simply means you’ve been caught out via the spotlight of the public gaze. And, more importantly, that it’s perfectly fine to keep doing whatever it is that you were snapped for – just make sure it’s where the filthy proles can’t see you doing it.
PR issues, in other words, are the sort of ‘problems’ which exist to be ‘managed’ and ‘massaged’, rather than actually ‘solved’.
John Key, by talking to Zuckerberg one on one, can thus claim to actually be ‘doing’ something about this issue – while in actual fact doing precious little (other than flapping his lips and garnering another successful-person photo-op). It means he’s worked out that his Government has started to look decidedly weak in this area.
If he were serious about sorting this issue, there are a number of potential paths he could pursue. Many of us will remember, at the more harshly punitive end of the spectrum, Labour’s David Clark floating the idea of a ban on companies such as Facebook operating here in New Zealand if they can’t abide by our laws. Personally, I agree with the spirit of this motion – but given how inextricably important the social media platform has become for so much of our personal lives and daily communications, I question whether I’d support such a measure actually being put into practice.
Cooler heads like New Zealand First’s Fletcher Tabuteau, meanwhile, have long been making the case for properly tightening up and toughening up our nation’s taxation laws so that foreign corporates like Facebook can’t continue to flagrantly get away with this kind of pernicious and parsimonious behavior.
If National genuinely want to see Facebook et co. start to pay their proper taxes (rather than just genuinely no longer wanting to be seen as on the back foot on this issue) … perhaps they ought to hit Fletcher up, and see what the New Zealand First proposal to fairly tax foreign corporates looks like.
I’m sure we’d only be too happy to help.
Curwen said;
“I nearly fell out of my chair yesterday evening when Newshub opened an item with a declaration that the Prime Minister was finally talking about multinationals dodging their fair share of Kiwi tax.”
Yes Cerwen, it is strange that the MSM failed to cover this statement from the PM eh?
Well guess who owns the MSM? The same corporates that key is now correctly accusing them of dodging taxes as he does.
Sounds like key is choosing to follow Donald trumps line here now!!!!!
I will fall out of my chair when Key accuses the MSM as being biased against him also as Trump has!!!!
But in Key’s case that would be another big fat lie to add to the 500 he has already chalked up during his tenure as key has the MSM as his lapdog “stool pigeon” already hasn’t he? .
Yes the real issue is the media. The media reported this by way of video, showing Key telling them what he had said i.e he gave Mark Zuckerberg a right royal telling off. You’ve got to be fucking joking. Key is such a lightweight compared to Mark Zuckerberg and his empire, a pimple on Mark Zuckerberg arse. So when Key stands before a N.Z. political journalist, that’s reporting to N.Z. MSM he can make up any bullshit he likes. I for one do not believe him for one moment. If however there is video evidence of this so called, telling off, then I’d gladly apologize.
And now we are starting to see some really hard hitting political pieces by Claire Tevett holding Key to account(sarcasm)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/claire-trevett/news/article.cfm?a_id=74&objectid=11751997
and
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/claire-trevett/news/article.cfm?a_id=74&objectid=11751861
Truly inspirational journalism!
Another anti Labour piece is imminent
Good post. Considering how much time seems to be spent pursuing and trying to work out ways to further tax the dwindling working and middle class it would be good to find out why global multinationals, politician and Hollywood as per the Panama papers, just don’t have to bother…
Love how it is framed as a PR problem. sarc.
Tax avoidance all around the world is clearly not working if you have a look at the public services declining and the growing social unease.
There is a global war war taking place in the world economic system …….. Its driven by greed and corruption ……… and built by deeply dishonest, criminally inclined and the very worst among people involved as Politicians, Bankers, Lawyers and Accountants.
Corporate media is involved and profits from this ‘legalised looting’ …….mainstream reporting has been muted, poorly informed and often non-existent ……. our so called NZ news media are solely to blame for citizens being confused as to why John Key received special mention from the panama money laundering and tax haven whistleblower.
Keys and nationals grubby fingerprints in turning us into a tax haven/secrecy jurisdiction were all over Hansard, “Stuff interviews”, Nicky Hagers reporting on nationals long tax haven connections , wine box etc etc etc…..
This stealing by the most powerful and richest amongst us involves more than just Billionaires and corporations being greedy …………….. It is behind nearly every ill inflicting modern humanity and the earth Its driving climate change, It creates mass poverty and kills children , it spreads and grows pollution, war, corruption and every other sickness or abuse that the sociopaths and criminalized financial professions who build and run the off-shore wealth extraction networks have poisoned societies with.
John Key has a long career and made a lot of money helping American corporations and companies scam their way out of paying tax when Ireland set up as a tax haven centre back in the 1900’s when white collar criminality was rampantly growing ….. the virus of corruption spread through there corporate world and the bent bankers, accountants and Lawyers set the new scam standards.
Recently with Cameron PM in Britain , Harper in Canada Turn ball in aussie and our own bent key we have had a quadrant of arrogant yet sneaky evil who have been building. Expanding and aiding the “offshore/ secrecy jurisdiction /tax haven networks ……….. on the quiet.
In the U.s.a Obama talked a good game against the wholesale fraud ….because politically the richest stealing from everyone is indefensible but he did nothing …. and he played golf with our bailout boy PM ….. the TPPA classic
1980’s not the 1900’s :0
He wants to give tax cuts to his friends BUT there has been a new earthquake which means it won’t be feasible…UNLESS he makes a few corporations pay a bit more.
I mean, it’s not like he can squeeze anything more out of the bottom 50% of society can he?
Hi Curwen Your brain is younger with more lights on than mine so could you have a look at this vid please:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN2x746Bo-o
NZ is an INC reg with SEC (albeit US Inc is defunct) but I would think this applies to this profit corp NZ.
Is it time for all New Zealanders to have their debts wiped?
Berating someone about your concerns might make you feel better but it’s much less likely to get a result than persuading someone what they’re doing isn’t actually in their own interest.
Zucherburg’s confident of his legal position, and Key will (correctly) have judged that he doesn’t much give a shit about NZ’s fiscal arrangements or his own company’s ethics. What he will care about a great deal is his company’s brand.
So that’s the card Key played.
Yes, more PR and wanting to appear to be doing something, by Key, I reckon.
Mr Zuckerberg likes to be popular and successful, and to earn lots of money, even having so far allowed “fake news” to take over:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201824844/fake-news
And re Mr Key, if he had any integrity and was serious, he could start with funding public broadcasting like RNZ in a way, so they can operate without having to sell their studios in Auckland.
As RNZ is operating on the smell of an oily rag, we may soon get even fewer good interviews and reliable news on that station as well, leading to more misinformation or poor information.
BS has many faces, John Key is one “popular” one it has.
HERE’S THE LINK FOR NEW ZEALANDERS AND THEIR FINANCIAL ISSUES:
https://www.getoutofdebtfree.org/