Apple, the world's most valuable company, paid less than two per cent tax on its overseas earnings.
Ontario is "stealing" film and television jobs from B.C. by offering larger tax credits.
Municipal taxpayers forked over $1.7 million to the Calgary Flames hockey farm team because city officials signed a 10-year agreement guaranteeing the Abbottsford Heat's minimum revenue.
This is what the global economy is all about.
Corporations don't compete with each other anymore; all levels of government are competing with each other to curry favours from corporations. The corporations are free to shop around the world for the lowest labour costs, the lowest taxes and the highest government incentives.
Money has no patriotism, no loyalty and no ethics.
If western governments were interested in the welfare of their citizens, they would do away with taxpayer-funded bribery and agree to minimum working, environmental and taxation standards. Tariffs would apply to imports from non-compliant counties. Call it competing on a level playing field.
No doubt, corporate spokespersons will holler, "Rules and regulations interfere with the free flow of goods and services."
Fine, let's simplify the tax code, then. Let's level the playing field by getting rid of all those lucrative loopholes and tax incentives. While we are at it, let's do away with high-priced lobbyists and corporate-financed elections.
Hey, maybe we could try a new form of government, one where ordinary citizens have a say.
I think it's called democracy.
Lloyd Atkins,
Vernon