Many of the top companies in the world are backed by teams of experienced lawyers tasked with the job of finding clever ways of circumventing the law to allow these billion-dollar corporations to avoid lawsuits.
Decreasing taxes, sidestepping finance laws, and avoiding lawsuits from customers are a few examples of situations where large corporations utilize legal loopholes in order to remain successful.
Let’s discuss five legal loopholes large corporations use to avoid lawsuits:
1. Tax Havens and Transfer Pricing
2. Punitive Damages Deduction
3. Carried Interest
4. Patent Injunctions
5. Bankruptcy
Tax Havens and Transfer Pricing
International corporations are not required to pay taxes on any profits incurred overseas unless they transfer the profits to a US bank. Transfer pricing is a practice adopted by international corporations that allow companies to transfer international profits to offshore banks so that they’re considered overseas earnings. The profits are kept in an offshore account where taxes are indefinitely deferred.
Punitive Damages Deduction
When large corporations are found to be criminally liable for an offense and are charged with punitive damages, according to the law, these expenses are considered normal business expenses. Companies are therefore able to claim the cost of this lawsuit as a business expense and significantly reduce the cost to the company.
Carried Interest
The managers and CEOs of the world’s leading companies are able to pay significantly lower taxes on their income than the average person. The profits earned from investing in a company are known as carried interest and are taxed at the capital gains rate which is a much lower rate than income. Instead of claiming to receive a salary for working at a company, CEOs and managers refer to their earnings as carried interest in order to avoid paying higher taxes.
Patent Injunctions
Patent injunctions are used when a company believes that another organization’s product is infringing on its copyrights. If a judge grants the injunction, the opposing company is prevented from selling the infringing product. Corporations have used this threat as a scare tactic to influence small companies to discontinue selling their product or pay them an exorbitant fee. This method has ensured that larger corporations have been able to dominate their industry by monopolizing sales of particular products.
Bankruptcy
Large corporations sometimes use bankruptcy to avoid lawsuits. This is a controversial legal strategy that is still used today. Large corporations establish shell companies that take on legal liability while keeping their valuable business assets separate from this new company. The shell company then files for bankruptcy which in turn freezes any lawsuits associated with the company. The goal of this tactic is to permanently block or delay any lawsuits against the parent company.
Final Thoughts
Several different clever legal strategies have been utilized by companies throughout the years to avoid any legal ramifications for their actions. Bankruptcy, tax havens and transfer pricing, patent injunctions, carried interest, and punitive damages deductions are a few of the legal loopholes utilized by multinational corporations.
If you are already filling the pinch of the recession and you need to file bankruptcy please schedule an appointment with us here at Hishaw Law LLC. We are experienced in handling Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 matters. Please complete the online bankruptcy form. To schedule a consultation with Hishaw Law LLC please contact us at 1.307.228.0407
