Microsoft CEO to Obama: Drop Tax Break Cuts or We'll Send Jobs Overseas

tbh, they do fucking suck. So does apple.
and btw, both companies advertised based on complete fraud and perception based precepts.

there is no longer a difference between mac and PC for example. IRL anyone in the know knows pc stands for the 1386-1686 (and now 1*86x64) processor architecture, which led to massive differences in what was possible in the personal computing world, hence it was given the nickname PC architecture. Macs used to use PowerPC processors, which process data a bit differently, but they hit different walls and had different issues with it relating to the power of the system so mac sold out and bought cheap foreign made processor boards like everyone else because they moved over to the same archetecture.

the only difference between these and linux are slight design differences, who makes them, and the rest is all in software, at least outside of MS and Apple's proprietary software (which can, outside of system function, be replaced on linux).

the new Macs are actually FreeBSD based as well, and really are just freebsd with a slightly different kernel and different proprietary librarys/GUI. Making apple even worse because the values are totally just fake like our money - they use CHEAP parts in an expensive case. TBH a macbook pro would be worth the money if it was like $800, like the equivalent pc prepackaged with windows.

linux is by far the best operating system. Runs on almost anything for any purpose imaginable, updates are insanely quick due to the popular Open source licensing to. Shouldve killed microsoft nearly a decade ago, but the only thing stopping it is generally MS ensuring nobody codes anything for it by paying software companies to make things *MS exclusive.

linux is basically immune to viruses (as close as it gets), and is much harder to hack into as long as you dont always log in as root and keep things you want hidden on other, administrator level accounts - if you hacked into its shell you wouldn't be able to view or edit any of those files. the most you could do is destroy unimportant user level files.

hell, even an old version of quake for linux I had came with a SUSE distribution.

the ONLY thing that sucks is the jobs, because windows is highly insecure and sucks. it is NOT more user friendly anymore. a dumbass can install/use Ubuntu linux or fedora at this point - you are almost NEVER presented with commandline unless you want to go there, even during/after installation.

TBH, the personal computer industry needs change. its become a Duopoly between microsoft and apple both advertising false pretenses to get their stuff sold, and both inferior to other available technologies. the people who just buy a computer get MS, and the people who think they are special and believe they are badass with computers (but dont know any programming code, or even HTML/CSS) buy apple because its cliquish and cool. most of them dont even have a good reason to be buying it.

some say "I just like apple" which is total sheep bullcrap because they just bought into the commercial.

Id understand if they said - I program a utility mostly used by apple users - so I use a mac to test these programs on.

or even - I really like this proprietary sound/graphics program and I dont want to move on to using an alternative on another program.

but nobody ever says these things. In fact they get pissed MS word costs a bunch for it, and they get pissed they dont know how to convert files to MS compatible versions for use in school/college. They just bought it for the image. which is retarded because mac is YEARS behind in power at this point - youd be better off making a hackintosh out of a cheap acer, youd get 3x the power for half the cost, same OS and compatibility.

if you just bought a barebones pc and got a free ubuntu disk in the mail. you could have all the functionality you need, almost all the software you need FOR FREE (and can save as MS word and PPT files), you could literally do anything with it, and for like $500-$800, you can probably get a huge hard drive, 12GB+ ram, a nice graphics card/sound card, and your OS.

I dont have a problem charging for Operating systems, not at all. But I do have a problem when you create a world where there are two groups and anyone outside those groups cant compete to have their will done. I dont support people who encourage ignorance about their products to encourage sales. I dont like people who rely on stupid trend to sell their products.

I think that, for software developers, it would be the greatest thing ever if both Microsoft and Apple failed.

although the jobs would hurt. its whats been destined to happen to PCs since the 90s when linux REALLY took off anyway.

if things made a mass transition to linux, youd see MASSIVE improvements and wildly different distros available, because commercial software developers would make their changes and release them as well.

and also there would be more seats open for programming jobs too - no more buying shitty licenses - instead just cross compile, test, and sell your programs to everyone, transcendent of what operating system people run - because truth be told ALL processors sold to us have barely ANY differences in machine code whatsoever. its why WINE works so well for lots of things - theres barely a difference, and the programs would almost run naturally if it werent for a few bites of different, and proprietary libraries (.DLLS on windows, these are contained as source code in unix based machines and compiled WITH the program, and its faster and smaller that way)

hell thats also why OS/X runs linux programs too - they are totally compatible. in fact ANYTHING forked from BSD and BSD itself can run almost any other unix program, because there is such a small difference its really laughable.

It would also be massively cheaper to have a software business, especially a games business - because there would be no paying licensing for any usage of anything. Youd make your product, and pay only labor, packaging, shipping and marketing. All the libraries would be free, at least those based with the system.

if you wanted to buy engines like unreal, you still could pay for them because paying for them would be paying for the labor of writing the code.

you'd also make more because you'd be selling your product to everyone instead of a small minority of people - granted you wouldnt get that fat check from microshaft for not selling your games on linux to ensure the game market is monopolized, but it would equalize out because all consumers would have equal opportunity to buy your product.

and the end user makes out because they dont have to lie on all the software agreements. because seriously, I dont like them, and I dont think many other people do either.

You said, "remove consular and citizenship privileges and protections from those execs (and their families) if they make such decisions."

So you believe that the government has the right to strip Steve Balmer's CITIZENSHIP? The government can also strip his family members CITIZENSHIP too, according to you. Then you go on about how CITIZENSHIP is a PRIVLAGE. So if you were born in AnyTown, USA there is nothing wrong with being stripped of your INALIENABLE RIGHTS?

That is normal. If you a tax paying citizen leave the US tomorrow..you are still have to pay tax to the USA for 10 yrs..No different for a company..they should not get out of paying taxes if we the people dont.

Look up H-1B visa. Microsoft is already "sending jobs overseas." They hire someone from another country, bring them here, pay them next to nothing, and then send them home again. Meanwhile American IT people are making donuts and coffee.

[link to www.dailytech.com]

"Microsoft isn't happy about a new tax on companies foreign profits

It takes an incredibly powerful company to threaten the U.S. government in hopes of impacting a significant decision, but that's precisely what Microsoft is doing. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made headlines when he publicly attacked President Barack Obama's plan to cut tax breaks on U.S. companies' foreign profits, a plan which is currently awaiting Congressional approval.

Mr. Ballmer suggests that if the tax succeeds, Microsoft may begin a significant move out of the U.S., taking with it tax revenue and jobs. He states, "It makes U.S. jobs more expensive. We’re better off taking lots of people and moving them out of the U.S. as opposed to keeping them inside the U.S."

The plan, proposed by President Obama on May 4, seeks to help raise tax revenue and balance the budget by rolling back $190B USD in tax breaks for offshore companies over the next decade. Microsoft is not the first to oppose the measure -- the National Foreign Trade Council, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable are among the numerous others to voice their disapproval.

Previously, companies could defer paying corporate rates as high as 35 percent on most types of foreign profits, contingent that the company invests the money overseas. The idea was that foreign profits are not the domain of the U.S. President Obama disagrees, arguing that U.S. corporations' profits are U.S. earnings. He believes that by taxing foreign profits, companies will be more likely to invest in the U.S., rather than shelter their money overseas.

Thanks to the current provision Microsoft enjoyed a very low tax rate of only 26 percent in 2008 on its profits. A company report describes, "Our effective tax rates are less than the statutory tax rate due to foreign earnings taxed at lower rates."

Some, like Barry Bosworth, an economist in Washington at the Brookings Institution research center, accuse Microsoft and others of wrongdoing. He says the company has exploited the system, and expensive abuse that has cost our nation tax revenue and domestic investment. Indeed, Microsoft's shell game is a bit strange -- it typically develops products like Windows and then transfers the licenses for free to an Ireland subsidiary. This subsidiary then proceeds to sell them, free of U.S. taxes."

cool the solution is then to whack a massive import levy on the products of companies that willfully outsource to avoid paying due taxes.

oh and also remove consular and citizenship priveledges and protections from those execs (and their families) if they make such decisions.

But the Kenyan Communist with no verifiable records of any kind gets to be dictator!

Lib logic.....enough to drive a person insane!

cool the solution is then to whack a massive import levy on the products of companies that willfully outsource to avoid paying due taxes.

oh and also remove consular and citizenship priveledges and protections from those execs (and their families) if they make such decisions.

I don't support any company that sends jobs overseas. Boycott Microshaft. Don't buy their crappy products anymore.

If O turns the screws on US corporations again, they'll just leave. The trend is strong and growing.

The USA is no place to run a business. Now it's turning openly 3rd-world hostile while the rest of the world becomes friendlier, led by Asia. I worked in Silicon Valley when the giants were shifting all their new facilities abroad. It wasn't so much labor costs as the million other costs of doing business here, crappy infrastructure, huge delays in the zillions of required permits, and increasing taxes and regulations running against the trend in the rest of the world.

Microsoft built facilities in India over 15 years ago, and has their second-largest manufacturing site there. If O pushes them out, it won't require anything other than shifting their weight from one foot to another.

They won't care about losing US business cause O has guaranteed nobody will be investing (businesses) here anyway, because there is no hope of profits. Folks can't afford to upgrade, either.

USA businesses spend $1.7 trillion a year just to comply with Federal regulations, every year. That's 3X more than they pay in income taxes! With the Obama regulation blitzkreig now, everyone will get out who can.

Time for a real life economics lesson.

Bill Gates?? He is long retired! Microsoft is run by Steve Balmer and he happens to be Jewish by the way...

[link to www.microsoft.com]

Bye bye microsoft, get the fuck out of America! I am boycotting all of your products from here on! Also, I buy everything for my family! U r out!

Define prosperous.

Actually several Caribbean nations are doing better then some "white" countries.
[link to en.wikipedia.org]

And the viceroy of Canada is black. So there. ;)

Microsoft has been doing this for a long time. Microsoft gets permission to bring in workers on H-1B visas by lying and falsely claiming there are no Americans for those jobs. Our government has never had the balls to deny issuance of those visas.

That is normal. If you a tax paying citizen leave the US tomorrow..you are still have to pay tax to the USA for 10 yrs..No different for a company..they should not get out of paying taxes if we the people dont.

[link to www.dailytech.com]

"...The idea was that foreign profits are not the domain of the U.S.

President Obama disagrees, arguing that U.S. corporations' profits are U.S. earnings..."

Ok so he has "no clue" for trying to get the jobs back to the states? By taking away tax breaks for corps. who send jobs overseas? I say that Obama calls their bluff and then we all boycott MS for insisting or threatening to keep their currently outsourced job overseas. God you will stand on anyone's side no matter how inane their demands just to oppose our President. These corporate practices have imploded our pay scales here, created massive unemployment and brought these companies record breaking profits. FUCK MS! They have sold out the american people at every turn. Next the world! Again, FUCK MS!

MS is essentially saying if the admin does this they will send all jobs overseas, not just the 60% (maybe more)they sent overseas as of this time.

1. Government regulates and taxes businesses into leaving
2. Businesses tell them that they will leave if taxes and regulations increase further
3. Media demonizes business for telling the truth and sheeple believe it
4. Businesses leave
5. Government attempts to fill void
6. ?????
7. Profit!

Liberals are such idiots.

It's not just the tax system, it's the entire system combined. They will fuck you in taxes, they will fuck with permits, they will fuck you with fees. It makes it completely infeasible to operate in the US lately in many states and cities. In the long run, companies that stay in the US take it out on the customer and the employee, so you end up with lower wages and higher costs of products.

The profits made by Microsoft Romania s.r.l. (a Romanian registered "limited liability company" that obeys ONLY to Romanian fiscal laws) in Romania, MUST STAY in Romania; And this is because our law says so.
All the countries in the world have SIMILAR FISCAL LAWS that FORBID the EXPORT of THE PROFIT MADE within their territory.

So, the Microsoft-US Corporation, DOESN'T REALLY OWN the Romanian "branch" nor any other "branches" on the planet.

The profit made by Microsoft s.r.l. in Romania, WAS ALREADY taxed by the Romanian state! (And will remain in Romanian banks)

Somehow, Obama wants to tax that net profit that is kept in the Romanian banks! (And every other country on the planet)

This is crazy!

A corporation cannot centralize/monetize to US (bring home) all its worldwide value!

That tells me how little Obama knows about the laws of other countries!

USA CANNOT TAX THE PROFITS MADE BY NON-US COMPANIES (because that's EXACTLY what a corp. BRANCH is - a NON US company) IN OTHER COUNTRIES.

With that logic. Obama might force my small Romanian LLC to pay taxes to US gov !
Americans, I consider you responsible for this global shit, because of what you voted and because YOU HAD the “THIRD OPTON” (besides Obama & Romney) and you blew it.