To be or not to be (Taxed)?

We pay taxes to have good schools, affordable health care, a safe and clean environment. You, me and our friends and families, as ordinary working people, pay our taxes alongside small and medium sized companies (SME’s). We do it because it is the right thing to do… So when you learn that others working here do not pay tax, what should you think? We know that some rich folks, some big companies like Starbucks, Google, Amazon, Apple use legal ways to reduce their taxes by having overseas holding companies in low tax countries. The companies claim that it is legal and they have an obligation to shareholders to maximize profits. The rich folks also say that they want to minimize tax costs but only in a legal manner. Swedes can live in Portugal as a pensioner without paying income tax! There are four solutions: 1. Continue with present system, but that does not sound very fair. 2. We level the playing field by having the government make these tax breaks available to all of us, but that will not pay for schools, healthcare or the rest of our infrastructure. 3. Pay to play – companies should pay local corporation tax based on the share of their total business in different countries. 4. The rich should pay progressively on their income like the rest of us. All foreign holdings should be disclosed and all income should be treated as income, including dividends after a defined amount. This last exception is for SME’s that need supporting because they face true risks and are so important for employment.