FORBES ... CORPORATE TAX DODGERS ARE POSITIVELY UN-AMERICAN

Allan Sloan, editor-at-large of Forbes magazine, has an excellent article that sheds light on how U.S. corporations duck U.S. taxes by moving their headquarters overseas. The problem, as Sloan notes, is that the rest of us get stuck paying their share to keep our great country afloat. This, according to Sloan, is "positively un-American."

I particularly like Sloans' reference to Carnival cruise lines, a Panama-based company with its corporate headquarters in Miami. Like other corporate giants who legally locate elsewhere but maintain their physical headquarters in the U.S. Carnival sponges off of U.S. resources when it suits their needs.

When Carnival's cruise ship Triumph lost all power after an engine fire in 2013 they were more than happy to ask for assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard. They just don't like the idea of having to pitch in to keep the Coast Guard primed and ready for rescues like their ships require.

The U.S. Coast Guard patrols the waters after Carnival's Triumph lost power in the Gulf of Mexico.

To be sure, Carnival did pay the U.S. Coast Guard for its services, but that's kind of like getting to pay your insurance premiums only after you wrecked the car, and got your insurance pay out.

The point here is that U.S. corporations that relocate to avoid paying taxes - what the tax lawyers call "inversion" - continue to get treated as if they're good U.S. corporate citizens when they clearly are not.

Writing for Bloomberg, Barry Ritholtz kicks it up a notch and reminds us all that U.S. corporations who relocate to another country to avoid paying U.S. taxes still get to take advantage of the following:

1. Deep Financial Markets
2. The Rule of Law
3. Military Protection
4. Physical Infrastructure
5. National Research Programs
6. Terrific Places for Employees and Their Families to Live
7. The Wealthiest Consumer Market in the World.

Someone has to pay for sustaining all of this. Unfortunately, it's going to be you and me because America's "inverted" tax avoiding corporations feel that they should be able to pay what they want. It's probably more apt to say that they would pay nothing if they could.

Yet, many corporate executives who work for tax dodging corporation lose little time (or sleep) when it comes to yapping about closing loopholes on others, sending America's troops abroad, or mindlessly bashing successful government programs like Social Security.

There's more but Barry Ritholtz ends by pointing out that the "... U.S. provides an outstanding place for these companies to operate and for their employees and families to live and work. They should pay their fair share."

I can't add anything to this..

- Mark

Addendum: For those of you yapping about the size of welfare and social safety nets you really should take a look at this, this, and this first ... Also, in the FYI category, this tax dodging post is a nice follow-up to this post.