[ovi256]

I bet the two sources won't agree on what values go into the denominator and / or numerator of their effective tax rate calculations. It can be as simple as the 3.5% being a calculated rate on revenue rather than profit

[loeg]

You can't just throw revenue in the denominator, though. Business tax is assessed on income. If you're going to make a claim about tax rate using an unconventional metric, you need to be explicit about what you've done; Reich isn't.

[gojomo]

If you're Robert Reich, you can! You can make up anything, and someone will submit it to HN to waste everyone's time!

[TrainedMonkey]

Sure, and there are a ton of ways to shifting income around. For example selling a subsidiary in lower tax jurisdiction patents and then paying for their usage. Another example is Hollywood accounting where productions pay exorbitant rates for equipment and catering to affiliated companies. This inflates the costs so the movies end up unprofitable despite smashing box office.

[shevis]

Income != profit. Income is revenue. It sure would be nice if businesses were taxed on income, given that’s how people are taxed and all. Aren’t corporations supposedly people now thanks to citizens united?

[quietbritishjim]

> Business tax is assessed on income.

Income (in a business) is another word for revenue. I think you meant: business tax is assessed on profit.

[terminalshort]

There is no real concept of sources legitimately disagreeing here. There is tax law, which Meta uses to calculate its tax liability, and then there are lies.

[kccqzy]

Even if you mistakenly calculate the rate on revenue, you will get 25474/200966=13%.