Corporations... Individuals but not citizens?

Amina Motzer: Corporations are not individuals in the human sense, they are an organization of individual persons. Corporations own property. They do not have Human Rights, they have corporate rights. Many different laws govern a "transnational" organization. I will be the US owner of "burger king". You will be a citizen of Hickory (just a name). I approach you and offer to sell you a franchise. You agree, you incorporate as "Burger King of Hickory"...you and I are separate corporations ( I'm Burger King USA). I provide the financing for you to build, furnish, purchase food, etc. As a franchisee you pay me "X" number of dollars each month to use the "Burger King" name, and product names (like whopper) and to pay back the financing. My profit that I pay US taxes on is interest part of the payment you make to me (I don't pay tax on the principle, as it's not income, your paying me money I previously paid tax on). Whatever taxes you have to pay on your profit is ! between you and the country of "Hickory".Example: I loan you $10,000.00 to build and get started. You pay me $100.00 to use the Burger King names (franchise) You also pay me $100.00 to repay the loan, and $50.00 interest on the loan. You sell $1,000.00 worth of food which cost you $100.00 to purchase.Your gross sales= $1000.00less your expenses of $350.00 ( 100 for franchise, 100 for food. & 150 for loan and interest)Your profit is $650.00The $650 is yours to pay taxes to Hickory or not. If you choose not to pay taxes to hickory, hickory cannot hold me responsible for your corporation.My gross sales are $250.00 (franchise, loan &interest)I don't pay taxes on $100.00 because it is the loan principle.My net profit is $150.00 which I pay US income taxes on.This is how multinational corporations operate except all the numbers are larger...sales, franchise cost, loan amount, # of persons that make up the entity of "Burger King USA"....and "Burger King of Hickory"There ! is not one law that governs how corporations do business in ot! her country's. Company A may pay a "tariff" of 5% to the government of "Hickory". BUT....Hickory really, really wanted company "z" to open a business in their country, so they offered company "z" as an "incentive" a tariff of only 2.5% I hope this helps some....but I think the main problem you are encountering in your thinking is that a corporation is an individual being. It's is an individual ENTITY. Entities do not have nationalities. If I move to France, I'm an American living in France. If I have corporation in the US the corporation is an entity registered in the US, I'm still American. If I have a corporation in France, the corporation is an entity registered in France, I'm still American. Plus most corporations are owned by individual persons from every industrialized country (even some 3rd world countries) in the world.We cannot get into subsidiaries!!!!Believe me this is a most simple explanation that tries to explain something that people spend at leas! t 4 years at college or university, plus numerous years training "on the job"....and they still can't get it right every time (the current world economic situation)...Show more