https://blogs.ubc.ca/jdogor/

– Josh Dogor’s blog

http://mo-cpablog.com/estimated-tax-payment-due-september-17-2012/

Tax inversion doesn’t sound like a big deal when it’s small-scale, but when billions of dollars are involved, it becomes a big problem. When companies start avoiding their taxes the way they did in the article, it is, as Josh says, “essentially robbing both the people and the government”. The average citizen pays his or her taxes, not willingly of course, yet in honesty. Then with what right do businesses have in evading taxes with the excuse that the saved tax money will be used to “invest much more aggressively in the U.S” (Lorenzetti, par. 5)? It is unjust and obviously unacceptable. Everyone can use that tax money, but we also know that our money will be used to fund the government and that we will eventually receive that amount back in benefits such as health care, education, transportation, and much more. Intentionally decreasing the amount they have to pay means that they do not want to support such systems. Thus, tax inversion should be and is a very sensitive subject in any country, and it definitely should not be taken lightly. I agree with Josh that the legislation should be implemented as soon as possible so that people will realize the gravity of this issue.

References:

Lorenzetti, Laura. “U.S. Legislators Are Stepping into the Tax Inversion fray.” Fortune US Legislators Are Stepping into the Tax Inversionfray Comments. N.p., 8 Sept. 2014. Web. 15 Sept. 2014. <http://fortune.com/2014/09/08/u-s-legislators-are-stepping-into-the-tax-inversion-fray-as-companies-continue-to-pursue-the-tax-advantaged-deals/>.

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140806-the-slippery-slope

– The New York Times

“The majority of people are capable of doing something slightly unethical”. Bernie Madoff, who embezzled millions, and Jayson Blair, who plagiarized and fabricated a number of articles for the Times, did not begin their life of fraud with a big bang, but rather, with small and miniscule lies. Studies have told us that as rewards increase, people have more incentive to cheat, and once you submit to temptation, you are on the “slippery-slope’ down to cheatsville before you know it. However, the article suggests that by keeping people in a regulated environment with “clear ethical policies that outline exactly what behavior is right, what’s wrong and the consequences of breaking the rules”, we can prevent this “slippery-slope effect”.

In my opinion, there will always be someone trying to cheat their way through the system no matter what kind of environment you’re in. It’s human nature to want to take a detour to your destination. You can’t predict the future, so sometimes what you thought to be a shortcut might prove to be an obstacle course. If you realize that you are on the wrong course, you can fix the problem right away before it’s too late to turn back. However, no one likes admitting that they are wrong, and thus, we convince ourselves that we are right and continue doing what is wrong. If you lie once, lying a second time is no big deal. Then it’s a third, and a fourth, and eventually lying would become a norm. As a saying I know goes, “you cannot button up a shirt properly if the first button is crooked,” so we must be honest to ourselves and to others around as well, for our society needs to be built on trust in order to run smoothly.