The Burger King Backlash Could Hurt the Republican Party

[babylonsister]

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119213/negative-reaction-burger-kings-potential-inversion-hurts-gop

The Burger King Backlash Could Hurt the Republican Party
By Danny Vinik


Call it the Burger King backlash. On Sunday night, the Wall Street Journal reported that the fast food giant was looking to buy Tim Hortons, the Canadian coffee and donut chain, in the latest bid by an American firm to escape the U.S. corporate tax system. By Monday morning, the company was facing a public relations crisis.

On Morning Joe, hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski agreed that they would no longer eat at the company’s restaurants. “You know what I’m going to do so we can afford to pay Burger King's taxes?” Scarborough asked. “I’m just not going to ever go to Burger King.” Senator Sherrod Brown released a statement condemning the move. Burger King’s official Facebook page was flooded with comments calling the company a tax dodger and even a traitor. The message is clear: If Burger King goes through with the purchase, and uses it to avoid U.S. taxes, many Americans will boycott their restaurants.
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This swift reaction is emblematic of a much larger disconnect in the ways big business and main street think about the responsibility of U.S. corporations. Company executives have a real fiduciary duty to shareholders to maximize profits. Leaving money on the table by not employing such strategies is, in theory, a breach of that duty. But, in the past, companies felt at least some obligation to do right by the American people, even if that meant forgoing some profits and hurting their shareholders. That mindset no longer exists. Now, American firms seek out every loophole, so they can squeeze out every dime of after-tax profits.

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Burger King undoubtedly knew that it, like Walgreens, would be criticized for using an inversion. Maybe they deemed the negative PR a worthwhile cost for lowering their tax bill. Maybe they underestimated the magnitude of the negative response. In the upcoming months, we’ll see if Burger King follows Walgreens path and announces that it will not use the tax loophole.

However, the negative reaction also creates problems for the Republican Party. After all, Republicans are the ones blocking Democratic legislation in the House and Senate that could put a stop to tax inversions. The more iconic American firms that look to move overseas, the more pressure Congress will face to block the practice—and the more foolish Republicans will look protecting businesses that want to ditch the U.S. corporate tax code.

[Laelth]

1. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth

[Exposethefrauds]

2. So BK comes out against gays, deny women workers BC and encourage gun toting in its stores

And BK becomes the darling of the RW

[Proud Public Servant]

3. There will be no backlash

Walgreens felt the pinch because their new business model has them going after young, upscale urbanites -- a demographic that would have both objected to the inversion and been politicized enough to support a boycott. Burger King may take some heat in the op-ed pages, but it has nothing to fear from its customer base.

[Wounded Bear]

4. K & R...for exposure...nt

[no_hypocrisy]

5. There won't be a backlash unless more people vote in November.