Another Patent Tax
Just when you thought taxes and patents could not get any worse: Bush's Top Economist Seeks Patent on His Own Tax Strategy (9/13/2007) reports on a patent application for a System And Method For Multi-State Tax Analysis, which claims:
“A method, comprising: creating one or more alternate entity structures based on a base entity structure, the base entity structure comprising one or more entities; determining a tax liability for each alternate entity structure and the base entity structure; and generating a result based on comparing each of the determined tax liabilities.”
So let me get this straight: the state already taxes us, though there are various hoops we can jump through to lower those taxes. The state also grants patent monopolies that others can use to restrict your actions, or demand a fee for it. So here we have a crony of the guy whose policies will cost us trillions of dollars in taxes enforced by the state, getting from the same state a monopoly privilege on a method to legally reduce those taxes, unless you pay him a royalty for this privilege.
Comments (9)
Jean Paul
i lol, but i feel like cry.
Published: September 20, 2007 12:53 PM
Jaq Phule
The Onion has become redundant. I don't think it can compete with reality anymore. There's so very many things wrong with this ... not the least of which is that it isn't even a terribly original tax strategy!
Published: September 20, 2007 1:05 PM
quincunx
Now when is someone going to patent a method for getting rid of the patent office...
Published: September 20, 2007 1:51 PM
Mathieu Bédard
A method, comprising: creating one or more alternate entity structures based on a base entity structure, the base entity structure comprising one or more entities; determining a tax liability for each alternate entity structure and the base entity structure; and generating a result based on comparing each of the determined tax liabilities.
O_o
......
Say what?
Published: September 20, 2007 4:24 PM
Kevin B
Why bother with Congress when all human activity can simply be determined by the Patent Office?
Published: September 20, 2007 5:11 PM
William
I am holding my breath and very blue. Could someone tell me when the patent on breathing expires?
And, umm, what is the current tax-rate on air?
Published: September 21, 2007 2:23 AM
Robert M.
Sorry William, but I do believe that you owe me some money. The government sold me the blue segment of the spectrum last month.
Published: September 21, 2007 9:01 AM
Buster
Maybe we need MORE patents on tax computation, so as to inhibit innovation.
Published: September 21, 2007 2:18 PM
Dan Davis
It's hard to imagine we individual citizens, the voters, will really allow a corporation to patent a method that seems to encourage the creation of other extra entities (corporations) for the expressed purpose of tax avoidance. Do we not "get it" that our society is already like the old woman who lived in the shoe? Who has so many corporations (paper entities), it doesn't know what to do?
Published: September 21, 2007 4:09 PM