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Re: Microsoft needs a help strategy


From: Ian Hilliard
Subject: Re: Microsoft needs a help strategy
Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2009 12:08:10 +0900
User-agent: KNode/0.10.9

amicus_curious wrote:

> 
> "Rjack" <user@example.net> wrote in message
> bumdnUH8Ov-23ebUnZ2dnUVZ_uydnZ2d@giganews.com">news:bumdnUH8Ov-23ebUnZ2dnUVZ_uydnZ2d@giganews.com...
>>
>> With the advent of the Obama administration, it is generally
>> expected that the Justice Department and the FTC will become much
>> more aggressive in antitrust enforcement matters.
>>
>> With Microsoft's OS share hovering around 90%,
>>
>> http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=8
>>
>> how can Microsoft best subtly assist OSX and Linux in order to
>> avert antitrust prosecutions under the new administration that will
>> resemble those in the EU?
>>
> I think that the Obama administration is more likely to consider the
> adverse
> effect of such silly prosecution on the overall economy.  Consider that
> Microsoft is a large company that generates more than 60B worth of revenue
> per year.  Why would the Obama administration try to hold them in check?
> Why would they favor replacing that 60B company with a collection of open
> sourcerers who rely on trade in kind and are adverse to such levels of
> profits?  Would destroying Microsoft help the economy?  I don't think so
> and I doubt that Obama's advisors are going to recommend that course of
> action.
> 
> Microsoft has absorbed the EU fines with ease since their prices in the EU
> are significantly higher than elsewhere in the world.  They will stay in
> the EU as long as it is profitable to do so and so far it has been.

Large corporations, like Microsoft, are extremely good at tax avoidance. In
Microsoft's case, it appears that Microsoft are not paying tax on the
income made outside the US as this all goes through Ireland, where the tax
bill is much lower. The tax money going to Ireland is not helping the US
economy.

Microsoft is taking its profits to buy back its own shares. It is my
understanding that that is considered an operating expense and as such the
money is not taxable.

Large corporations like Microsoft are also offshoring their work as fast as
they can. They are not increasing the employment in the US, they are
reducing it.

The simple fact is that a large number of middle sized companies doing the
same work as Microsoft would be much better for the US economy than the one
big Microsoft.

Ian


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