As some of you know, I’m the founder, CEO, and majority stockholder in a local software company. I’ve never talked much about my company because I try to keep business and my political discussions separate.
But today I’m breaking my rule. I want to speak about using offshore tax havens. And I want to speak to this issue not as a liberal, not as a Democrat, but as a CEO. And as an American.
The law differentiates between what is legal and what is illegal. But it is equally important to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong.
Over half of our sales come from countries other than the United States. We could legally set up a subsidiary in the Cayman Islands and have every single dollar of profit go from overseas sales direct to that subsidiary. We could easily pay no taxes.
We could easily register our corporation in Delaware as many companies do to lower our state tax hit. Most of our sales in the U.S. are outside of Colorado and so it would be a very legitimate step.
We have not done this and will not do this because it is wrong. My company is successful because of America. It is successful because of the education and opportunities everyone at my company received that are not available anywhere else in the world. It is successful because of the economic system and infrastructure of America. It is successful because of the Internet (created with tax dollars) and critical mass of other companies we depend on that also came to be only in America.
We exist, we are successful, because of what America has given us. America is a full partner in our success and to not pay back what we owe would display a stunning lack of integrity. The fact that you can profit by screwing someone who was key to your success does not mean you should.
The same goes for keeping our corporate registration in Colorado. Everyone who works for the company lives in Colorado. Colorado is also a partner in our success from the phenomenal interns we hire from the University of Colorado to the small business support infrastructure (public and private) that exists here, to the fact that it is a gorgeous place to live. We are a Colorado company and registering in Delaware means we would not be paying our fair share of the cost of providing all that we take advantage of here.
And look at the companies playing this game. Our main competitors are Microsoft (8 tax haven subsidiaries), Oracle (77 tax haven subsidiaries), & SAP (German company). Their claims that they need a tax shelter, when we do not, are ludicrous.
Taxes are not a game where you play every trick you can to avoid them. Taxes are your fair contribution to the system that made your success possible. Speaking CEO to CEO – guys, if everyone takes a free ride then we lose the system we all depend on for our success. For shame on you.
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