Who pays corporation tax? The corporation, its owners, or the people who buy its products or services?
The honest answer is the long-term evidence is unclear. The short-term answer is that without a doubt the payment falls on shareholders, and since we can never be sure who they are the company must pay on their behalf. As in the long term we’re all dead I’ll settle for the short-term payment by shareholders and risk the rest.
Given that corporation tax started in 1965 I think the long term might already be here you know.
“As in the long term we’re all dead I’ll settle for the short-term payment by shareholders and risk the rest.”
Seriously? That’s the worst, stupidest argument I’ve ever seen.
I had trouble believing Keynes wasn’t joking when he said “in the long run we’re all dead”, but he really wasn’t. He was just an asshole. And Murphy tops him.
“The corporation, its owners, or the people who buy its products or services?”
What about the other stakeholders? The employees, the suppliers, those who could be suppliers / employees if the taxes were lower, those providing debt capital, those living nearby shops / factories that cannot be upgraded because there is not enough cash, etc???
Surely the point of corporation tax (apart from providing well paid work for accountants) is that all the stakeholders, with the possible exception of the shareholders, think they aren’t paying anything. A wonderful scheme to get the maximum amount of feathers with the minimum amount of squawk.
Also people need occasionally to be reminded who those shareholders are. Your pension fund, and your ISA fund.
If the goods or services are being sold in a competative market at near the cost of production I would say it is the customer who pays it
correction – If the goods or services are being sold in a competative market at near the cost of production I would say it is the customer who pays it – either that or the rent to the landlord goes down
The whole point of the long-term is that it’s so lon we need not bother