I'm sure Netflix paid tons in employer contributions to employee income taxes, social security taxes, etc. They probably paid a bunch in sales taxes where they made purchases. Property taxes for data centers, office buildings, etc. So there are many more taxes that everyone pays beyond the income tax.
As others have pointed out, the tax code is immensely complex, but you probably don't need a deep explanation for a $0 income tax bill: previous years' financial performance can carry over into the current year.
As someone once told me: with complexity comes opportunity. Simplifying the tax code, regulations, and laws removes the opportunity for well-funded operations to exploit the existing complexity.
I'm sure Netflix paid tons in employer contributions to employee income taxes, social security taxes, etc.
This situation should not be viewed as Netflix paying tax. An employee's benefits, pay, time off, etc. are all part of the compensation of an employee. If Netflix did not pay this on behalf of the employee then the employee would have to pay it. For instance, for contractors they (the contractor) pay the full FICA and not half. This is partly why contractors generally get paid more in terms of hourly rate.
The FICA that Netflix pays on behalf of employees is an expense. Corporations don't pay tax on expenses. They pay tax on profits. It is a bit unseemly for some corporations to have large profits but pay no income tax.
It is an important distinction. Contributions pay for employees, taxes pay for a successful society where companies can be successful. When companies end up not paying much tax, the feedback loop between successful companies and a successful society is broken. Society therefor no longer has an incentive, or even ability, to provide new opportunities for people. Instead you end up in a unsustainable situation where the incentive is to try and capture what is already there and not to creating new things.
You and companies do pay tax on expenses typically as some type of indirect tax (global defn, not the US defn) such as VAT, GST , excise , import/export duties etc.
A company takes in money from products and services it sells. From this amount of money the company pays employees and equipment, services, etc. for the running of the company. These are called expenses in business accounting. The company does not pay tax on the money it took in that it then spent buying/paying for things. This is what is meant by the phrase, "companies don't pay tax on expenses".
You pay the tax on your expenses even if you have zero income .
I am not talking about the tax you charge on your product and collect on behalf of the government. I am talking about the tax you pay for stuff you consume as a company.
While you may be able to offset some of the taxes you have paid already against what you collect from the customer like in Value Added Tax, you still pay those taxes on your consumption even if there are no customers.
I defined the meaning of the phrase "businesses don't pay tax on expenses". My posts have only to do with the meaning I defined. My posts have nothing to do with what you are talking about.
> Simplifying the tax code, regulations, and laws removes the opportunity for well-funded operations to exploit the existing complexity.
I think most people would agree with this statement, but the devil is in the details. Republicans have been trying to accomplish this type of tax reform for decades, but even with control over both houses and the executive branch, they couldn't overcome the influence of special interests. The question isn't whether a simplified tax code is beneficial -- it's how we get from point A to point B that is contentious.
> I'm sure Netflix paid tons in employer contributions to employee income taxes, social security taxes, etc.
I pay sales taxes, and my landlord pays property taxes, and I gave $500 to charity last year.
Does that excuse me from paying any income taxes on $300,000 of salary, or do I need to structure that compensation through a double Irish sandwitch, first?
Alternatively, if a shoplifter steals $500 of goods, but pays $50 for some cigs, and a bottle of wine, do we shrug our shoulders, and say: 'At least he paid for the wine!'
I'm sure Netflix paid tons in employer contributions to employee income taxes, social security taxes, etc. They probably paid a bunch in sales taxes where they made purchases. Property taxes for data centers, office buildings, etc. So there are many more taxes that everyone pays beyond the income tax.
As others have pointed out, the tax code is immensely complex, but you probably don't need a deep explanation for a $0 income tax bill: previous years' financial performance can carry over into the current year.
As someone once told me: with complexity comes opportunity. Simplifying the tax code, regulations, and laws removes the opportunity for well-funded operations to exploit the existing complexity.