Ireland's The Business Post Reports that Coca-Cola Transferred 4.4 Billion Euros from Ireland to the Cayman Islands to 'Pay Dividends,' with Less U.S. Taxes Paid

The Business Post has reported new details on Coca-Cola's evasive tax strategy paying €4.4 billion in dividends to a Cayman Islands entity, already scrutinized by U.S. Tax Court, which indicated that Coca-Cola owes around $6 billion in back taxes and interest. 

Money Sent to Cayman Islands

The IRS is Investigating Coca-Cola's Offshore Tax Strategy

The Business Post reported that a significant amount dividends was paid to an entity in the Cayman Islands, and these dividends were paid from its Irish office - an office being scrutinized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS). According to the article, the IRS is "probing whether Coca-Cola had moved profits from its U.S. tax base and allocated it to its Irish Operation, which then paid the money to the Cayman Islands, an offshore entity.

Yahoo! Finance reported that U.S. Tax Court found that Coca-Cola has hidden "astronomical levels" of profits in low-tax jurisdictions - one of which being Ireland - and that Coca-Cola owes the IRS about $6 billion USD. The other subsidiary named was it's Brazil subsidiary, which together could result in a combined $16 billion owed to the U.S.

Yahoo! Finance reported:

"The Irish subsidiary's tax rate tells a striking story. Back in 2017, the company paid a mere 1.32% on what it earned from operations. That rate rose to 7.88% by 2023 but fell again to 5.87% last year after the company claimed over 239 million euros ($280 million) in tax relief." -Leslie Sattler of Yahoo! Finance

Per the Business Post article, this is not the first time Coca-Cola's Irish subsidiary has been involved in a tax dispute with the U.S. 

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been disputing Coca-Cola’s transfer pricing arrangements involving its Irish operation going back at least to the mid-2010s, with formal litigation and major rulings tied to profit allocations for tax years as early as 2007–2009. The IRS designated the case for litigation in 2015, kick-starting a long-running dispute over whether profits were artificially shifted offshore to subsidiaries in low-tax jurisdictions, including Ireland.

Reported by The Irish Times:

A U.S. Tax Court judgment from 2020 highlighted that Coca-Cola had manipulated profit allocations to its Irish unit—among others—leading to an extremely low effective tax rate and prompting orders for billions in back taxes and interest. This has been part of a long-running tax fight covering roughly a decade and continuing into appeals and related scrutiny. 

CFO: "The Company is Confident"

Chief Financial Officer John Murphy said the company is confident.

"We have outside counsel who have, each quarter, continued to evaluate the case on the facts that are available to them, and they continue to offer an opinion that gives us a greater-than-not chance of prevailing," he said.

Should Companies Like Coca-Cola Pay a Flat 15% Global Minimum Tax Rate?

To make things fair across the board, some believe that a global minimum tax rate should be instituted for all international companies. That way, large corporations could not have an option to evade taxes by moving revenues to overseas operations or offshore entities.

Yahoo! Finance also reported:

"What's being done about corporate tax avoidance?

More than 140 countries have agreed to a 15% global minimum corporate tax through the OECD, an effort meant to close loopholes that let companies shift profits to havens.

Meanwhile, the U.S. continues pursuing its case against Coca-Cola, with the company fighting the ruling on appeal."

New Mexico is Trying to Stop the US Government from Gunning Down Over 100 Feral Cows & 'Leaving Their Carcasses to Rot in the Wilderness'

New Mexico governor Michelle Grisham is disappointed with the U.S. Forest Service over their aerial shooting operation to shoot and kill up to 150 feral cows from a helicopter in the Gila Wilderness. Many in the agriculture community in southwestern New Mexico are against this operation.

CBS News reported that the U.S. Forest Service approved the plan on Thursday, 23 February 2023 to fly a helicopter through the Gila Wilderness and shoot feral cows. The area in question is known as the "nation's first designated wilderness area."

Does this make it okay to just kill the cows in the wilderness and let their meat go to waste, when it could better serve people that need food for their families?

Sounds like a waste.

This is all because environmental groups are claiming that the feral cattle is damaging streams and rivers with their mouths and hooves.

Seriously?

This is not a joke.

According to CBS KRQE-TV reporting, in 2022 "31 New Mexico lawmakers sent a letter to the U.S. Forest Service urging authorities to reconsider the plan." Some ranchers even argue that some of their stray cattle might even be mixed in with the feral cows, and the plan to "shoot stray cattle by helicopter" is a big mistake.

Senator Crystal Diamond says that there are hunger issues in New Mexico that could be addressed, but shooting these feral cows in the wilderness is a waste.

She said:

“You know, I am in the middle of a legislative session in which we are seriously trying to address hunger issues in New Mexico and I can think the options of what we can do there are endless. it’s kind of a horrific response in how to handle stray cattle in the forest.” (Source: CBS KRQE-TV News)

Ranchers: U.S. Forest Service to Gun Down Feral Cows and 'Letting Their Carcasses Rot in the Wilderness'

Fortune reported that "ranchers argue that the operation amounts to animal cruelty and that the cows could have been rounded up and removed instead of letting their carcasses rot in the wilderness."

A federal judge denied the request from ranchers to delay the aerial extermination operation by the U.S. Forest Service on Wednesday, 22 February 2023.

Photo by Zara Walker

Reasons Why U.S. Forest Service Should Not Kill Feral Cows Without Careful Assessment

There are several reasons why feral cows should not be killed without careful consideration and assessment of the situation. Here are some of the key reasons:

1. Animal welfare: Feral cows, like all animals, have the capacity to feel pain and suffer. Killing them without justifiable cause could result in unnecessary harm and distress. If culling is deemed necessary, it should be done in a humane and ethical way that minimizes suffering.

2. Environmental impact: Feral cows can have both positive and negative impacts on the environment. They can help to maintain open landscapes and reduce the risk of wildfires, but they can also damage ecosystems and compete with native wildlife for resources. Killing feral cows may have unintended consequences for the ecosystem and may not be the best solution in the long run.

3. Public safety: Feral cows can pose a risk to public safety, particularly if they are in areas where people live or work. However, killing them may not always be the most effective way to manage this risk. There may be other measures that can be taken to mitigate the danger, such as fencing or relocation.

Overall, the decision by the U.S. Forest Service to shoot and kill feral cows in an aerial shooting operation should be based on a careful assessment of the situation and consideration of all the relevant factors, including animal welfare, environmental impact, and public safety. In many cases, there may be more effective and humane ways to manage the situation.

Do you think that the feral cows in New Mexico should be rounded up and relocated so the meat doesn't go to waste?

Are you fine with shooting cows by helicopter and letting their carcasses rot in the New Mexico wilderness?

(Share your thoughts in the comments section)

How is the U.S. Economy? Not Good in 2012

Uncle Sam holding U.S. debt sign

You must be wondering how the U.S. economy is doing. The real answer is: Not good.

The U.S. public debt as of July 2012 was $15.93 trillion. The largest national economy in the world is the U.S. economy, estimated at over $15 trillion in 2011, with a per capita GDP of $48,450.00

 The U.S. public debt includes:

• Debt held by the public 
• Debt held by government accounts or intra-governmental debt

U.S. Public Debt as of 2010; Source: United States Government

What about jobs in the U.S.?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 44 states reported over-the-month unemployment rate increases in July 2012. The unemployment rate is really bad.

Not good.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reported in an economic news release that employers in the private non-farm sector initiated 1,476 mass layoff events in the second quarter of 2012 that resulted in the separation of 262,848 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days.

That is horrible news!

I know. I can attest to the poor job situation. I work in the U.S. and even live in one of the best places to get a job, and the outlook is very dismal. This recession continues to drag on.

In fact, anyone that goes to a job interview will hear the words "bad economy" because every employer talks about it candidly in interviews. Anyone that is looking for a job in the U.S. is hoping for a new president. Those who don't work and rely on the government like the current president. The government is not meant to provide, and people should not expect the government to take care of them.

The best thing any American can do to turn this poor economic recovery around is to vote for a new president in November - a president that knows what he is doing, and one that will not continue to allow the economic recession to continue.

If you are interested in reading more about the bad U.S. economy, read: 55 Interesting Facts About the US Economy in 2012

President Nixon "I am not a crook" and President Obama "I am not a dictator"

Immigration Problem Solved: 5 Ways To Stop An Alien Takeover

Alien artwork by Didier Konings

Illegal aliens and the immigration laws are all over the news. It's a hot-button topic in political circles with a general election coming up.

But domestic aliens are less invasive than aliens that attack from outer space.

So take a moment to consider the real threat of an alien takeover, and how you can prepare yourself, with some help from popular Hollywood films.

5 Ways to Stop an Alien Takeover:

1. Use knowledge gained about the aliens to take the upper hand. In The Darkest Hour (2011), Emile Hirsch plays a young entrepreneur that is taken surprise by invisible aliens that attempt a worldwide takeover. These electric emitting aliens can only by fought with microwave guns (that a brilliant Russian creates on a whim), and a little American ingenuity. In Cowboys and Aliens (2011), Jake (Daniel Craig) wakes up with amnesia and a high-tech blaster sealed to his wrist. Aliens attack and cowboys must team up with indians to ward off the gold-hungry aliens. Ella (Olivia Wilde) turns out to be a friendly alien, and they all learn the hard way that a bow-and-arrow is useless when fighting alien immigrants from outer space. They have no intention of learning English, despite working in a U.S. gold mine. A laser gun and a little dynamite works a lot better.
2. Run and let the angry birds do the fighting with biological warfare. In War of the Worlds (2005), the humans are ineffective against the alien invasion, however the bird flu is what sends the aliens packing. Look, if the birds of planet Earth want to fight for us, why stop them? Its about time they pull their weight.
   Note: This has nothing whatsoever to do with Angry Birds in Space.
3. Let the friendly aliens fight for you. In The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), an alien friendly comes to Earth to prevent the G.O.R.T. robot from wiping out humanity altogether. If Keanu Reeves is on your side, who can be against you? Or how about in Transformers (2007) when friendly robots come from outer space to help defend Earth from the power-hungry robots that want use Earth for a new home?
4. Take an alien fighter ship and take revenge. In Independence Day (1996), aliens attempt a worldwide takeover, and an American fighter pilot – played by Will Smith – takes one of the alien ships back to the Mother ship and takes a surprise with him to blow them into oblivion.
5. Find an intergalactic Stargate and lead a ground-based rebellion against the alien threat. In Stargate (1994), Kurt Russell plays an army Colonel with a mission to destroy the gateway between planets to protect Earth. Unfortunately, he finds that the alien enemy must be stopped by blowing up the Pyramid-like spaceship first.

If you think you can add to this list, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom.

Resident Evil 5: Retribution For What?

Resident Evil: Retribution in 3D

The Resident Evil Franchise, starring Milla Jovovich, is coming back with a fifth movie.

Yes. I said fifth.

They want retribution this time. For what, I do not know.

Alice in Resident Evil 5, played by Milla Jovovich

If you have read previous blog posts of mine - such as this one - the problem with Hollywood is that they pump out sequels under the premise that it has to be bigger and better. Please do not make another Indiana Jones movie. The first three were great. The last one - not so great.

But there is one problem - rather than continuing to produce high-quality and consistent movies that build onto a franchise, Hollywood opts to use the bigger explosions, unrealistic over-the-top CGI, and the 3D schtick to crank out another movie, rather than to expand the content of the franchise portfolio by producing a great script.

Part of the problem is that established brands with previous successes in the U.S. and worldwide already have brand recognition. That means they already have a "foot in the door" when it comes to adding on a sequel to the franchise.

Keep in mind that Hollywood executives aim to make 60-70% of their profits through worldwide distribution. That means that 30-40% is made here in the U.S., but the worldwide markets have a big influence on what movies get made.

Alice running from blood-thirsty zombie-like humans created by the Umbrella Corp.'s T-Virus

So until Hollywood changes its practices, we will continue to see stale sequels in franchises that have been squeezed dry of their creative juices.

That includes hordes of zombies, and every other beast fathomable, since the Resident Evil movies do not stick to one kind of evil. They do it all.

I would rather see them do one thing and do it well, rather than to do it all and be and a master of nothing.

Good movies are good movies. Plain and simple. But when is the last time you saw a sequel win an award for acting?
If you want to see the trailer for yourself, it can be viewed here on Yahoo! Movies.

...and by the way, if you are a fan of the video games, be sure to pick up Resident Evil: Revelations for the Nintendo 3DS, but don't look at the spine of the game, because it is misspelled.



Resident Evil: Revelations incorrectly spelled "Revelaitons"