On: Facebook paid £4,327 corporation tax in the UK in 2014

[hawkice]

So, the generic answer for why we favor income or value-added taxes over revenue taxes is that (1) we want to encourage investment, so marginal business expenses are essentially tax-free, and (2) revenue taxes limit the ability for competitive middlemen (who can lower transaction costs) and give massive advantage to vertically integrated semi-monopolies.

[lukasm → hawkice]

Sure, but maybe the benefits outweigh costs. Revenue tax reduces accounting costs, simplifies models, it's better for small startups etc.