
How Uber, AirBnB, and the Sharing Economy Avoid Sharing the Wealth - nickalewis
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-06/the-sharing-economy-doesn-t-share-the-wealth
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bko
Honest question: If I create a website that someone uses to to facilitate
commerce in Australia, why is it obvious that I should pay Australian tax? I'm
not using the resources of the government and their government services did
not facilitate the creation of my website.

Shouldn't taxes be at least marginally linked to services rendered by the
government? If my business delivers products and I use public roads, I think
its reasonable to contribute to that. Or if I consume a product that has been
deemed safe by the regulatory body of that government, that seems reasonable
to tax as well. But facilitating commerce through websites seems less obvious.

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gmarx
Mental exercise: Would any Uber or AirBnB transactions occur if Australia we
currently as portrayed in the Mad Max movies? Why not?

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bko
I'm not sure that governments really have the best track record on securing
human rights. But yes, peacefully mutually beneficial voluntary exchange of
goods and services can exist without a coercive force.

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davidf18
The Treasury Secretary, Jack Lew, just issued laws related to "inversion"
where American firms buy out foreign and transfer their headquarters to the
foreign firm to avoid taxes. Pfizer was about to execute such an inversion
until the new laws came out.

I hope that Treasury similarly will issue laws that prevents services such as
Airbnb and Uber from escaping taxes.

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toomuchtodo
Don't just hope. Contact your representatives! Airbnb and Uber move offshore?
Call Visa and Mastercard.

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paulpauper
'Gig/sharing jobs' are a way to circumvent the economic inefficiencies of
minimum wages and regulation. If these gig jobs are so awful, workers can
always look elsewhere, although good luck: on a 2011 national hiring day,
McDonald's got 1 million applicants for only 50,000 job openings.

Some gig workers make a lot of money - more than they would with a regular
job. The competitive and meritocratic nature of gig jobs reward efficiency and
productivity, and this benefits customers and the economy.

Uber, Air BNB, Task Rabbit allow people to earn money when they may not have
otherwise been able to .

