Ben Bullard
Personal Liberty
8/28/2014
Not pleased that Burger King is acquiring a Canadian company and relocating its headquarters to Canada, where the corporate tax rate is lower (and not universally applied to global revenues), Democratic candidate Sean Eldridge is slamming the deal — even as his husband watches his stock in one of the partner companies climb.
Eldridge, who’s seeking to topple incumbent Republican Congressman Chris Gibson in New York’s 19th Congressional District, told the Catskill, New York, paper The Daily Mail that Burger King’s attempt to set down roots in a country where the (lower) corporate tax rate applies only to the money it makes in that country is “really frustrating,” and that Congress needs to make the law more punitive for other companies who would follow suit.
“… I think we need to reform our tax code so that we are not benefiting companies that are sending jobs elsewhere,” he said.
But Eldridge’s husband, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, is benefiting from the deal — at least, so long as it’s profitable for shareholders. And Eldridge’s campaign, in turn, is benefiting from Hughes’ wealth…
The article continues at Personal Liberty.
Related: Warren Buffett will pay $3B for Burger King to buy Tim Hortons — and avoid U.S. taxes
Buffett’s investment in Burger King will allow the burger chain to move part of its headquarters to Ontario and avoid paying millions in U.S. corporate taxes. The move comes a month after President Obama denounced ‘inversion’ tactics like this as an ‘unpatriotic tax loophole.’
