Have it your way…
I subscribe to an online political cartoon website called:
www.Caglepost.com
If you like political cartoons, this is the place to go.
Anyway… when I saw a new collection of cartoons about Burger King moving its corporate headquarters to Canada after purchasing the Canadian donut chain “Tim Hortons”, I needed to find out what was happening.
Sure enough, Burger King, presently headquartered in Florida, has announced the big move to Canada, as well as their interest in bringing Canadian donuts to the world.
As a younger kid than I am now, I used to eat at Burger King all the time. However, I have pretty much given up eating there for quite a few years now. My interest therefore, has nothing much to do with Burger King as it has to do with the accusations that the reason they are doing it is because they stand to save a “bun” load on American taxes by doing it.
According to my research, it’s called a “Tax Inversion”. A larger U.S. company purchases another smaller company whose headquarters are based in another country that has a better tax system than the U.S. has. They then move their corporate headquarters from the United States to the host country, putting them in a much better tax situation.
What I find most interesting about this is how outraged the critics are about this move. This group of criticizers, including but not limited to politicians, are spouting on about how this is un-American, how we should boycott this dreadful company and eat at other more American loving fast food chains, such as Wendy’s, McDonalds or White Castle. As it seems that this is the next of what has been a history of MANY American companies making similar moves for the same reason, politicians are finding renewed vigor in trying to change the tax laws in hopes of preventing this exodus of American based businesses.
But here’s the catch:
The politicians are not really trying to help provide a better incentive to keep business from leaving; they are more interested in somehow changing the laws so they don’t lose their existing lucrative tax income, regardless of what these companies choose to do.
It’s important to understand at this point that I am now and have always been a VERY proud American. I will always be the first to wave that grand old flag and shout “Who rah”. However, I am not so patriotic that I believe that our government is always right and that they always have the best interests of this country and the people that live in it when they do… whatever it is that they do.
Rather than scramble around like chickens fighting over feed, our government should be focusing on how they can make this country more interesting to all business on a global scale. How can they entice companies, and their tax dollars and their jobs and everything else that goes along with them, to WANT to be here rather than want to get out.
Somehow, there are other countries out there that are able to exist, and do quite well, WITHOUT this cryptic self-serving tax system we all live under.
People are leaving one state for another all because of taxes. Some companies, like many here in Illinois, are leaving the State for neighboring States because of taxes. And those bigger companies that can afford it, and I’m sure some people as well, are going off to “Greener –non-American- pastures”, all because of taxes.
It’s time that the politicians started working for and thinking of the people of this country rather than their own jobs and political wellbeing. Our fore-fathers fought and died so that we all could live in a country where we’d have the right to say… NO!
It’s not working the way that it is!
No!
You can’t have most of what little money I have just because you say so!
And NO!
If I am a company owner and have worked my ASS off making my company what it is, and if I have earned what I have as a result of that effort, It is the most American thing I can do to “take My Business Elsewhere”, if that’s what I have to do to survive.
…I think I’ll have Burger King Whopper this weekend!
