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Microsoft Wins Nevada Royalty Tax Cut and Tax Amnesty; Reports Record Revenue
,----[ Quote ]
| Struggling to close a $2.8 billion fiscal
| deficit, the Washington State Legislature
| ended its recent special session with two
| huge gifts for Microsoft:
|
| 1) It gave Microsoft an effective $100
| million annual tax cut by revising the
| definition of the royalty tax. Under the
| old law, all of Microsoft's $20.7 billion
| annual software licensing sales were
| taxable in Washington state at .484%. Under
| the new law, the royalty tax will be
| apportioned so that only the portion of
| sales to Washington State customers would
| be taxable, a tiny fraction of Microsoft's
| taxable revenue.
|
| 2) It also gave Microsoft amnesty on an
| estimated $1.25 billion in unpaid taxes,
| interest and penalties that the company has
| avoided paying since 1997 by reporting this
| revenue from a small Reno, Nevada office.
| The state's Department of Revenue has
| ignored this practice and refused to
| address precedents that call the legality
| of Microsoft's accounting into question.
|
| Most of the legislation was led by Chair of
| the Finance committee Rep. Ross Hunter, a
| 17 year veteran former employee of
| Microsoft.
|
| [...]
|
| Given that the Seattle Times waited until
| almost the close of the special session to
| acknowledge the dispute about Microsoft's
| Nevada tax practice, we imagine that
| Chairman Gates has greatly appreciated this
| blog's investigative work of his company's
| tax practices and the quiet effective
| accomplishments of Rep. Hunter.
`----
http://microsofttaxdodge.com/2010/04/microsoft-gets-nevada-royalty-tax-cut-and-tax-amnesty.html?all
Microsoft Threats to Legislature Seal Huge Tax Cut
http://slashdot.org/submission/1222320/Microsoft-Threats-to-Legislature-Seal-Huge-Tax-Cut
Recent:
Rep. Hunter Makes April 10th Tax Freedom Day for Microsoft
,----[ Quote ]
| It appears that Rep. Hunter has
| successfully re-inserted the amnesty clause
| for Microsoft's thirteen year Nevada tax
| dodge (earlier, Rep. Santos' amendment had
| removed this clause for unrelated reasons).
|
| (2) Section 201 of this act does not
| apply to any tax periods ending before
| May 1, 2010, that were included in a
| completed field audit conducted by the
| department.
|
| Section 201 is the clause that was supposed
| to help the Dept. of Revenue crack down on
| these kinds of abusive tax transactions -
| more on this in a moment.
|
| Interestingly, Rep. Hunter's latest blog
| post is about Tax Freedom Day. Thanks to
| Rep. Hunter, April 10th is quickly becoming
| Tax Freedom Day for Microsoft.
`----
http://microsofttaxdodge.com/2010/04/rep-hunter-makes-april-10th-tax-freedom-day-for-microsoft.html
Guest post: Microsoft shoots over Wash. Legislature's bow
http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/201493.asp
Microsoft PR Goes on the Defensive with Veiled Threats on Tax Policy
,----[ Quote ]
| Last week, Microsoft's PR firm, Waggener
| Edstrom, invited local reporters to a press
| conference with Microsoft General Counsel
| and possible architect of its Nevada tax
| dodge, Brad Smith, to discuss an update to
| a Microsoft-funded University of Washington
| study on Microsoft's overwhelming economic
| impact on our state.
|
| [...]
|
| The only problem with Microsoft's WagEd
| press conference is if you actually pay any
| attention to the illogic of Mr. Smith's
| message. For example, quoting from
| TechFlash:
|
| * "It absolutely remains the case that
| Washington state is Microsoft's home." -
| unless of course we're reporting the
| revenue received from our $20.7 billion
| annual licensing business, the home for
| that business is in Nevada.
|
| * "If you'd ask what is more at play in the
| future, it's more a question of whether the
| jobs that Microsoft is able to add will be
| added in Washington state, another state,
| or outside the United States. The big
| issues playing into that decision include
| the company's ability to secure visas for
| foreign workers, quality of life (including
| education, transportation and cultural
| life) and the cost of doing business"
|
| In other words, in order for Microsoft to
| add more jobs in Washington State, it needs
| to secure more visas for foreign workers.
`----
http://microsofttaxdodge.com/2010/04/microsoft-pr-goes-on-the-defensive.html
Microsoft Tax Dodge Mp3 Download from KBCS FM
http://microsofttaxdodge.com/2010/04/microsoft-tax-dodge-mp3-download-from-kbcs-fm.html
Microsoft Tax Cut & Amnesty Pending in the Legislature
http://microsofttaxdodge.com/2010/03/microsoft-tax-cut-amnesty-pending-in-the-legislature.html
Open Letter to the Washington State Legislature on HB 3191
http://microsofttaxdodge.com/2010/03/open-letter-to-the-washington-state-legislature-on-hb-3191.html
Rep. Larry Seaquist: It's only a tax cut, if you were paying the tax
,----[ Quote ]
| Does the Department of Revenue think
| Microsoft is following the law? Well,
| we've recently received a more detailed
| response from the department about this
| issue and will post more shortly. All I'll
| say for now is that HB3176 labels this
| kind of out of state tax dodge an "abusive
| tax practice".
|
| As for Rep. Seaquist, when I wrote him to
| be sure he understood the problems with
| the bill (and to ask him for a public
| statement for the blog), he replied,
| "Gents, please direct your continuing
| concerns to Rep. Hunter. Very best wishes,
| Larry"
`----
http://microsofttaxdodge.com/2010/03/we-hope-the-washington-state-legislature-understands-hb-3176-better-than-rep-larry-sequist.html
Update on Status and Records Requests Related to Microsoft Tax Dodge
http://microsofttaxdodge.com/2010/03/update-on-status-and-records-requests-related-to-microsoft-tax-dodge.html
Public Records Request Received Regarding HB3176 and Rep. Hunter
http://microsofttaxdodge.com/2010/03/public-records-request-received-regarding-hb3176-and-rep-hunter.html
Attorney General Affirms Non-Disclosure of Department of Revenue Tax Documents
http://microsofttaxdodge.com/2010/03/attorney-general-affirms-nondisclosure-of-department-of-revenue-tax-documents.html
Cartoonist Takes on Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Washington State
http://microsofttaxdodge.com/2010/02/cartoonist-takes-on-microsoft-ceo-steve-ballmer-and-washington-state.html
Cartoon about Microsoft's giant tax gift from Washington State
,----[ Quote ]
| Jeff sez, "Inspired by Boing Boing post about
| Microsoft tax dodge, cartoonist RR Anderson
| takes on Washington's $100 million tax cut and
| tax amnesty for Microsoft."
`----
http://www.boingboing.net/2010/02/23/cartoon-about-micros.html
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