S05.E08: Corporate tax avoidance, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017

[Athena]

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Other segments: 2018 bombing of Damascus and Homs, Blockbuster Video in Alaska

 

[Annber03]

The "Last Week Tonight" shopping bills have got to be THE most fantastically weird things to read, I swear...:D. Russell Crowe memorabilia, wax statues of presidents, a huge train set...

The whole "Mission Accomplished" thing made my head hurt. Holy shit. The entire week's worth of craziness from the White House in general, though-I swear to God, this administration has shifted time somehow and makes you honestly believe you've aged ten years in a remarkably short timespan.

(And the whole "the people who like me best" thing. Shut. Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup.)

Also, everything with the rap quotes was just all sorts of glorious WTF?

Edited April 16, 2018 by Annber03

[Lantern7]

The MSNBC guy . . . . sorry, the white MSNBC guy quoting rap lyrics was funny. And he wasn't forcing it so hard, which made it funnier.

John can barely keep up the facade of being "normal." "Look, we did not buy Russell Crowe's jockstrap. [long pause] Okay, fuck it, we did. And we bought other shit! We hope Russell uses the money to recover from his divorce a little better!" I know, John didn't say that, but it was implied.

Edited April 16, 2018 by Lantern7

[Kromm]

I wonder why once John revealed that they DID buy the jockstrap, that he didn't deny that he took a sniff of it to see what Russell Crowe's balls smell like. One would think after bringing that up. he'd deny actually doing it... unless...

[Robert Lynch]

I wish the Trumpsters would open their eyes if they think Trump was for the working class because of tax cuts. He was there because of corporate loopholes. Nothing more. Nothing less. What he did in the past is what he is doing in the future with that Republican bill.

[ottoDbusdriver]

And let's not forget the lead story about taxes -- it amazes me the hoops that corporations will jump through to dodge paying taxes.
In fact, I clearly remember in some of those years that GE paid zero taxes, they actually got tax refunds because of credits for green energy development (solar, etc.).

Ari Melber clearly loves him some rap.

[teddysmom]

Thank you John for pointing out Ari Melber's obsession with rap.  I thought I was the only person being driven crazy by this. 

I try to like him but he can be a little bit of a dick sometimes to his guests, he tried to get the former editor of the NYT and Mike Lupica who writes for NYDN to argue by insulting Lupica's paper they both had this "WTF" look on their faces, like "is this why we're here?" 

And please Ari, shut up about rap.  You look like an idiot.  That one black guy in the piece, I guess he's a rapper, laughing his ass off, and other members of his panel with the "great here he goes again". 

9 hours ago, Annber03 said:

And the whole "the people who like me best" thing. Shut. Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup.)

was that a Trump tweet? JFC

[Enigma X]

I thought the Ari piece was funny. I only find it funny because it most times the lyrics seemed to fit the situation. But I don't think there is anything wrong with a Caucasian white-collar suit liking rap. I am down for shit like that.

[attica]

Among the several things I like about the Ari bit is how absolutely at sea the panelists all look. Might as well be speaking Xhosa  at them.

[Danny Franks]

This episode felt a bit... unnecessary. I know corporations avoid tax like crazy, but I don't really care about the methods. And it's not something that's ever going to change, at least not in the conceivable future. I just don't really feel like John told me anything that I felt like I needed to know.

Regarding Trump being corrupt and out to save billionaires (and fake billionaires) as much as he could via tax cuts was a particularly obvious example of preaching to the choir. Everyone who watches Last Week Tonight surely knows that about Trump, and did from the start.

I know it was too soon for this episode, but I'd like a real look at the issues regarding bombing Syria, the increased polarisation of the Middle East and the dangers involved in any potential missteps that Trump will surely make.

I enjoyed the bit about Alaska's Blockbuster store, and John and HBO shelling out a load of money to potentially help keep them in business... albeit via the daft method of buying up Russell Crowe's junk. Though I have to say, that robe and the shorts from Cinderella Man were pretty nice, as far as movie memorabilia goes.

[ganesh]

No offense to Cardi B, and I take her point, but it's not that hard to find out how you're money is being used. And if they're taking 40% of her income, then she needs to fire her accountant. 

This wasn't anything new to me either, but I guess since it was April 15th, that they should do something on taxes. They really didn't get that much into the tax bill as they could either. 

[Queena]

6 hours ago, teddysmom said:

Thank you John for pointing out Ari Melber's obsession with rap.  I thought I was the only person being driven crazy by this. 

I try to like him but he can be a little bit of a dick sometimes to his guests, he tried to get the former editor of the NYT and Mike Lupica who writes for NYDN to argue by insulting Lupica's paper they both had this "WTF" look on their faces, like "is this why we're here?" 

And please Ari, shut up about rap.  You look like an idiot.  That one black guy in the piece, I guess he's a rapper, laughing his ass off, and other members of his panel with the "great here he goes again". 

was that a Trump tweet? JFC

Ari Mebler rocks! Actually, he draws a moderate hip hop audience. They play ads on hip hop stations on Sirius/XM radio for his show. I like him, and he's not forcing it, and he knows what he's talking about. Read his interview in the Source. 

Cardi B made it to Last Week Tonight?! 

[teddysmom]

5 hours ago, Enigma X said:

I thought the Ari piece was funny. I only find it funny because it most times the lyrics seemed to fit the situation. But I don't think there is anything wrong with a Caucasian white-collar suit liking rap. I am down for shit like that.

I don't have a problem with a white guy liking rap, but it's the only reference he seems to be able to make.  To the point that it's getting comical because I don't think all his guests get the references and sometimes the black guests seem to be rolling their eyes at him. 

WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY FUCKING TAXES??!  That was hilarious. 

[peeayebee]

What I liked about the bit with Ari Melber was that in each clip when he started to quote some lyrics or mention a rapper, many of the guests started to smile or laugh like, "Oh geez, here he goes again."

I didn't think Cardi B going on and on about her fucking taxes was funny. She just sounded ignorant to me and very conscious of saying "fucking" to get attention.

I get so pissed about corporations and individuals avoiding taxes in this way. I don't know if I understand what John said was a possible way to deal with it: have all countries use the same rate? 

In that one clip of Trump in front of the Christmas tree, did he actually say "plum-bers"? Sounded like he pronounced the silent B.

Requiring reporters to shout the all-caps words in Trump's tweets definitely should be a law. 

[Annber03]

7 hours ago, teddysmom said:

was that a Trump tweet? JFC

No, it was something he was saying in a speech where he was touting the tax bill and how it would help various groups of everyday workers-aka, the sort of people he claimed "liked him best". Truly, I honestly don't think I've ever seen anyone in my life as blatantly narcissistic as Trump. It's astounding.

10 hours ago, Robert Lynch said:

I wish the Trumpsters would open their eyes if they think Trump was for the working class because of tax cuts. He was there because of corporate loopholes. Nothing more. Nothing less. What he did in the past is what he is doing in the future with that Republican bill.

For as long as I live, I will never, ever understand how any working class people actually believed Trump gave, or will give, any sort of a damn about them. He doesn't even give a crap about his own family, for cripes' sakes.

On the note of the tax thing, when they showed that clip from that operetta with that lady singing about not paying taxes again or whatever, all I could think of was Leona Helmsley's "Only the little people pay taxes" comment. I love how politicians will spend so much time talking about how poor/working class people who struggle to pay taxes (or can't pay them, for whatever reason) are "mooching off the system", but see nothing wrong with giving breaks to rich people who can find ways to avoid paying their fair share.

[Queena]

1 hour ago, peeayebee said:

What I liked about the bit with Ari Melber was that in each clip when he started to quote some lyrics or mention a rapper, many of the guests started to smile or laugh like, "Oh geez, here he goes again."

I didn't think Cardi B going on and on about her fucking taxes was funny. She just sounded ignorant to me and very conscious of saying "fucking" to get attention.

I get so pissed about corporations and individuals avoiding taxes in this way. I don't know if I understand what John said was a possible way to deal with it: have all countries use the same rate? 

In that one clip of Trump in front of the Christmas tree, did he actually say "plum-bers"? Sounded like he pronounced the silent B.

Requiring reporters to shout the all-caps words in Trump's tweets definitely should be a law. 

Cardi B is a umm idiot. I can't stand the way she talks. She may be perfectly intelligent, but I will never know because of her voice. I'm so judgey. :/

Ari Mebler is kind of like the running joke. There's one lady, she's older, worked in Watergate. She started learning rap quotes to say back to him. So you have this little old white lady, and this youngish Jewish guy quoting rap lyrics on MSNBC in the middle of the day. Fun times. 

[ganesh]

3 hours ago, peeayebee said:

She just sounded ignorant to me and very conscious of saying "fucking" to get attention.

 

1 hour ago, Queena said:

She may be perfectly intelligent, but I will never know because of her voice.

I don't really care how she sounds or what words she's using, but if she's making enought to be getting 40% of her income taken in taxes, then I would question her intelligence at least in terms of money management. That's above the highest bracket. 

[Victor the Crab]

I know HBO has money coming out of their sphincters, but it still amazes me the kind of shit Ollie can get away with in using their money. It's like he's embezzling it for his own purposes - or not exactly his own, as in the case last night.

It was painful watching all those clips of that fucking idiot Ari Melber quoting rappers and their lyrics. One of his guests should just grab him by the scruff of the collar and yell into his face, on live TV, "Knock it the fuck off, white boy!"

[Queena]

3 hours ago, Victor the Crab said:

I know HBO has money coming out of their sphincters, but it still amazes me the kind of shit Ollie can get away with in using their money. It's like he's embezzling it for his own purposes - or not exactly his own, as in the case last night.

It was painful watching all those clips of that fucking idiot Ari Melber quoting rappers and their lyrics. One of his guests should just grab him by the scruff of the collar and yell into his face, on live TV, "Knock it the fuck off, white boy!"

White boys can't like and quote raps? I didn't even know G. Eazy was White? Can you really tell these days? 

 

I ♥ Ari Mebler? Am I the only person in the fan club? 

[Enigma X]

21 minutes ago, Queena said:

White boys can't like and quote raps? I didn't even know G. Eazy was White? Can you really tell these days? 

 

I ♥ Ari Mebler? Am I the only person in the fan club? 

I honestly never gave him much thought beyond being a decent newsman. I am more endeared because of his rap quotes though.

[Victor the Crab]

26 minutes ago, Queena said:

White boys can't like and quote raps? I didn't even know G. Eazy was White? Can you really tell these days? 

 

I ♥ Ari Mebler? Am I the only person in the fan club? 

He's no Eminem. He looks fucking ridiculous.

[teddysmom]

8 hours ago, Victor the Crab said:

He's no Eminem. He looks fucking ridiculous.

My beef is that it's every night.  If it was just an occasional reference, fine. But it's like he's trying too hard.  Okay we get it you fucking LOVE rap.  The problem, Ari, is you use references that most of your guests don't get. You have on older white people, and they don't get them. Then you have younger African American women, and they roll their eyes at you like you're the dork at the bar hitting on them. The male rappers aren't laughing with you , they're laughing at you. 

If it's so obvious and ridiculous that it's the subject of a piece on John Oliver, dial the references back to 11 for a while. 

[attica]

23 minutes ago, teddysmom said:

The problem, Ari, is you use references that most of your guests don't get. You have on older white people, and they don't get them. Then you have younger African American women, and they roll their eyes at you like you're the dork at the bar hitting on them. The male rappers aren't laughing with you , they're laughing at you. 

You say this like it's a bad thing!  :)

On Ari's show last evening, he played a bit of the LWT stuff, and then riposted with a mashup clip of JO 'singing.' Not exactly a touché burn, but a nice bit of return fire. 

[BTBAM310]

John needs to read a few Trump tweets on each show and yell the words in all caps - loved that bit.

[Sharpie66]

19 hours ago, Queena said:

Ari Mebler is kind of like the running joke. There's one lady, she's older, worked in Watergate. She started learning rap quotes to say back to him. So you have this little old white lady, and this youngish Jewish guy quoting rap lyrics on MSNBC in the middle of the day. Fun times. 

That’s Jill Wine-Banks—she’s great! I love that she is learning rap to compete with Ari. She was only 30 years old when she was added to the Watergate prosecuting team, where she was the one to interview Nixon’s secretary, the one who deleted the 18 1/2 minutes from the tape. She dressed fashionably, in miniskirts, so she was the only person on the team who was invariably shown on the news full-length, instead of just a talking head. She later became the first woman to head the ABA. 

[mjc570]

14 hours ago, Queena said:

I ♥ Ari Mebler? Am I the only person in the fan club? 

No.

[Victor the Crab]

8 hours ago, attica said:

You say this like it's a bad thing!  :)

On Ari's show last evening, he played a bit of the LWT stuff, and then riposted with a mashup clip of JO 'singing.' Not exactly a touché burn, but a nice bit of return fire. 

Except that it's Ari's job to cover the news, and Ollie's job to make fun of the news, which includes showing how stupid people like Ari look when they do shit like that.

[OneWhoLurks]

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"I think this is such a wonderful random act of kindness that I am planning now on how to best use the @iamjohnoliver money he spent on groin protectors and such," Crowe announced to his more than 2.7 million followers. "Given his often shown genuine love for Australians and Australia, it’s got to be something special." 

He later tweeted that he had an idea. 

"I’ve had a eureka moment on how to use @iamjohnoliver from @LastWeekTonight auction money," the Oscar-winning actor wrote. "His random act of kindness is going to be honoured in such a cool way. Yes, no surprise, it will involve wildlife." In his tweet, Crowe tagged a number of celebrities who also are animals rights activists. 

 

Russell Crowe to Donate John Oliver's Auction Proceeds
 

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Daymude told The Hollywood Reporter on Monday he badly wants the items and has contacted HBO via phone and social media to make sure they know. 

"I had no idea whatsoever he was going to do that," Daymude says. "We would be very honored to showcase that collection." 

Waking up to more than 50 messages on his phone, Daymude says the buzz around town, Anchorage, has been nonstop all day.

 

Alaska Blockbuster Store Manager on John Oliver's Stunt: "It Could Be Very Big for Business"
 

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During last Monday’s work day alone, supervisor, Gage Lind said, “One of the employees said we got about a hundred calls about it. We’re still getting calls and did a lot of interviews today.”

Even folks in Australia, where Crowe lived most of his life and is highly admired, had been consistently trying to contact the store’s manager to talk.

 

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And then on Monday night it came; ‘Last Week Tonight’ returned Blockbuster’s messages.

As of April 17th, Daymunde said, “One of their representatives got a hold of us about 5:00 last night. We received an email address to use so we emailed them immediately. Our owner has gotten a hold of one of the reps of the show and we’re just waiting for a confirmation. Everything is looking good.”

 

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People want Blockbusters to still exists, especially in Alaska due to the many areas where internet service to stream movies or use Netflix is either unavailable, undependable or too expensive to afford.

Thankfully, Supervisor Lind said that the Debarr Road location has a good relationship with the owner of their building and that a three-year lease has recently been signed keeping the store open for business and prepared to bring in some welcomed Russell Crowe movie relics for the city to see.

 

Anchorage’s Last Remaining Blockbuster Gets Some Unexpected Attention

ETA: Fun with Google Translate

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Er sei «angenehm überrascht» über das grosse Interesse an dem Steuerthema, schreibt mir Thierry Boitelle, als ich ihn per E-Mail um ein Interview anfrage: «Vor ein paar Jahren wäre das nur eine Diskussion unter Steuer-Geeks wie mir gewesen».

Herr Boitelle, wie finden Sie John Oliver's Beitrag?
Thierry Boitelle: Ich denke, er ist manchmal urkomisch und politisch unkorrekt, aber durchaus auf den Punkt gebracht. Ich bin beeindruckt, wie er mit vielen komplizierten internationalen Steuerfragen in so kurzer Zeit umgeht!

Sie werden in der Sendung als Schweizer Anwalt dargestellt, sind aber Niederländer, richtig?
Ich bin in den Niederlanden geboren und aufgewachsen, bin aber Schweizer Staatsbürger und praktiziere seit April 1999 Schweizer Steuerrecht.

 

He was "pleasantly surprised" by the great interest in the tax issue, writes Thierry Boitelle, when I ask him by e-mail for an interview: "A few years ago that would have been just a discussion among tax geeks like me".

Mr. Boitelle, how do you find John Oliver's contribution?
Thierry Boitelle: I think he is sometimes hilarious and politically incorrect, but in a nutshell. I am impressed how he deals with many complicated international tax issues in such a short time!

You are portrayed as a Swiss lawyer in the show, but are Dutch, right?
I was born and raised in the Netherlands, but I am a Swiss citizen and have been practicing Swiss tax law since April 1999.
 

 

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Was wäre ein gerechteres Steuersystem?
Wenn wir zu einem System der Quellensteuer zurückkehren würden – was historisch gesehen ein Weltstandard war –, würden die Reichen immer noch Steuern zahlen, wo sie ihr Geld verdienen, unabhängig von ihrem Wohnsitz.

Gleiches gilt für Unternehmen. So kann eine reiche Person auf den Bahamas leben, oder Apple kann Vermögenswerte und Funktionen auf Offshore-Inseln verlagern, aber beide investieren und verdienen immer noch Geld in hoch entwickelten Ländern mit relativ hohen Steuern. Indem man sie an der Quelle besteuert, wird das ganze System viel gerechter!

Die Mehrwertsteuer ist übrigens auch eine schöne Form der Quellensteuer und der Konsumsteuer, aber sie gilt im Wesentlichen nur für einzelne Endverbraucher und nicht für Unternehmen. In vielen Industrieländern machen die Mehrwertsteuer und andere indirekte Steuern bereits mehr als 50 Prozent des staatlichen Einkommens aus. Einkommenssteuer und Vermögenssteuer sind nur geringe Einnahmequellen für Regierungen, das dürfen wir nicht vergessen.

 

What would be a fairer tax system?
If we returned to a system of withholding tax - historically a world standard - the rich would still pay taxes where they earn their money, regardless of their place of residence.

The same applies to companies. So a rich person can live in the Bahamas, or Apple can shift assets and functions to offshore islands, but both are still investing and still earning money in highly developed countries with relatively high taxes. By taxing them at the source, the whole system becomes much fairer!

Incidentally, VAT is also a nice form of withholding tax and excise duty, but essentially applies only to individual end users and not to companies. In many industrialized countries, VAT and other indirect taxes already account for more than 50 percent of government income. Income tax and wealth tax are only small sources of revenue for governments, we must not forget that.

 

John Oliver attackiert die Schweiz – das sagt der Steuerexperte dazu (John Oliver attacks Switzerland - that's what the tax expert says)

Edited April 19, 2018 by OneWhoLurks

[OneWhoLurks]

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ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - Following an offer the store couldn't refuse, a truckload of bizarre Russell Crowe memorabilia has landed in its new Anchorage home – the Debarr Road Blockbuster store. Customers will soon be able to come and marvel at real pieces of cinematic history.

Store manager Kevin Daymude said the staff of the Blockbuster video store, which claimed the goods, is now working to unpack and properly display the odd items sent by John Oliver and HBO.

The items, notably including a jockstrap worn by Russell Crowe, were promised in a segment on HBO's "Last Week Tonight," hosted by Oliver. In that segment, Oliver cited KTUU's reporting on the closure of multiple Alaska Blockbuster locations, leaving just one store open in Anchorage on Debarr Road.

 

John Oliver makes good on his promise; Watch Blockbuster open Russell Crowe gear
 

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But the prize is the leather jockstrap, and Daymude believes it might have a unique place in movie folklore.

"The very first jockstrap memorabilia I can think of, yes," he said.

And as for the most asked question so far, no, he doesn't know if they washed it before sending it, but he would like to think they did.

 

Blockbuster hopes Russell Crowe's jockstrap helps business

Edited May 5, 2018 by OneWhoLurks

[Hanahope]

I think its cool that Blockbuster still exists somewhere.  I had actually thought the entire company was out of business, so interesting that there is still a small company being operated.

Have to wonder, who else was bidding on that jock strap that got the price up to $7,000.  I guess either there wasn't much Gladiator stuff being auctioned, or it was even more expensive.

Yeah, its always a puzzle how some people think the tax cut means that they will suddenly get hundreds or thousands of extra money.  Maybe they get an extra $20 a month.  And of course corporations give the majority of any tax cut, or tax repatriation savings to their shareholders, as those are who keep the value of the company up and gives those executives huge bonuses.  But no company is going to hire more people if the demand for its goods or services isn't increased.