ConstitutionEconomicsGovernmentLiberalismPolitics

Liberals Denounce Burger King for Wanting to Save Money

The Left has gone into an apoplectic nose dive over the story that Burger King may reincorporate in Canada to lower its taxes.

Many are calling the move “un-American.” How so? How is it unAmerican to want to save money for its investors? Wasn’t one of the arguments for same-sex marriage that married couples could take advantage of the tax code for married couples? Why is it OK for homosexuals to save money on their taxes but not Burger King?

How is it that the Left has no problem with illegals coming to America and taking advantage of the taxes we pay but it’s not OK for a company to leave America for greener economic pastures?

The problem is with our tax code. If corporate taxes were competitive with Canada and many other countries, foreign companies would flock to the United States.

United States’ companies relocate in more tax-friendly states all the time. Some states like Florida do not have a state income tax. Georgia is a right to work state. No unions. It’s one of the reasons KIA, a South Korean company, built its huge manufacturing plant in LaGrange. By setting up shop here (I’m writing this from LaGrange) other manufacturing companies that supply KIA also moved here. The move created jobs, spread out the tax base, and lowered the prices of their cars. It’s a win for everybody.

Money is a coward. It goes where it won’t be assaulted. Our government is not making money safe for doing business so many Americans take their money overseas. Even liberals do it. Denise Rich, the songwriter and socialite who was once married to pardoned financier Marc Rich, gave up her U.S. citizenship to “help shield her from future U.S. taxes.”

You may recall that on the last day of his presidency Bill Clinton pardoned her former husband who had been indicted in the United States on federal charges of tax evasion and illegally making oil deals with Iran during the Iran hostage crisis. Liberals may be unethical, but they’re not stupid.

When 51 percent of the people in the United States don’t pay income taxes and tens of millions rely on government wealth transfer payments, it’s no wonder that money looks for safer havens. It’s being assaulted. If such assaults continue, the engine that is keeping the US economy moving will no longer have the fuel to move.

By lowering tax rates, companies have more money to invest and expand. This means more jobs and lower welfare costs. You would think liberals would love that effect. They don’t because it means fewer people dependent on the government.

The corporate tax rate in the United States, “which combines national, state, and city-level tax rates, is nearly 40 percent—the highest across all 34 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries. Canada’s, by comparison, is just over 26 percent.” When you’re talking about billions of dollars, 8 percent can make a big difference for stock holders, and by stock holders I mean average citizens including retirees who are trying to subsist on near zero interest rates on savings accounts.

Even some former communist countries have lower rates than us. Poland, Hungary, and Slovenia are under 20 percent.

Consider Ireland:

“Ireland has a 12.5% corporate tax rate. That’s a big deal on its own. If a U.S. corporation builds a factory in Ireland that generates $10 million in profit, it pays $1.25 million in Irish tax instead of the $3.5 million that it would pay if it built the factory in Indiana, where the federal rate is 35%.”

Why do some people think that paying less in taxes is unpatriotic or un-American? Do these people look for the highest price for an item? Would they pay 15 percent more to be patriotic? I don’t think so.

Burger King is being smart and by their move to Canada exposing what’s wrong with America’s tax system.

Previous post

Jimmy Carter to Give Keynote Speech at Muslim Convention

Next post

Police Want Your Blood at DUI Checkpoints