6 ms·

No jail? As an example, if a group of multinationals illegally fix prices and gain $1 billion in extra profits and they get a tax deductible $130 million fine,

No jail? As an example, if a group of multinationals illegally fix prices and gain $1 billion in extra profits and they get a tax deductible $130 million fine, where is the deterrence?

bytematic 8y ago
I suppose they were suppose to do it legally and perhaps make more money hoping that the fine will even out the profit, benefits include no bad pr? I don't agree with it either.
ceres 8y ago
Well there isn't. Unfortunately, that would not be "business friendly". Modern society has been heavily trained to walk on eggshells around big corporations and that isn't changing any time soon.
vertex-four 8y ago
Of course, if they were given a fine anywhere near the effect on the economy they had, this very forum would be decrying the EU for being overbearing and anti-business.
- icelancer 8y ago
  Not likely. This forum is very anti-price-fixing and anti-competitiveness, especially with regards to headhunting and wages like Apple/Google had.
  - contravariant 8y ago
    Responses were somewhat mixed to the recent Google fine though.
    - nutjob2 8y ago
      I think people here are liable to see Android as a public good, compared to its competition.
- AngryData 8y ago
  Any time someone decries anti-business, they forgot rule #1, business always finds a way. Even in the hay day for hardcore centralized state communism/production, businesses found a way to get a piece of the pie and enrich themselves.
21 8y ago
Silly you. The rich don't go to jail, you should know by now.
- marnett 8y ago
  s/the rich/the powerful/g
Confusion 8y ago
In cases such as these fines are usually determined based on the estimated profits, exactly to ensure deterrence.
lightanchor 8y ago
To be clear, in the United States at least, these kinds of penalties are not tax deductible.
matt4077 8y ago
Most corporate malfeasance is dealt with in civil law, not criminal. The EU specifically has almost no role in criminal law anyway, because that power remains with the nation states. The reason is mostly that the corporation also got the profits from such actions, so it makes sense to target that entity with sanctions as well. The system is also designed to encourage companies to create processes to root out bad behaviour, instead of silently encouraging it and denying all responsibility, instead making individuals take the fall. Another reason is that in many of these cases it's not obvious where and when a policy originated, at what point it started breaking the rules, etc. Of course there are still crimes that can get managers into trouble, such as bankruptcy, all sorts of counterfeiting, fraud, etc.

No jail? As an example, if a group of multinationals illegally fix prices and gain $1 billion in extra profits and they get a tax deductible $130 million fine, where is the deterrence?

bytematic 8y ago

I suppose they were suppose to do it legally and perhaps make more money hoping that the fine will even out the profit, benefits include no bad pr? I don't agree with it either.

ceres 8y ago

Well there isn't. Unfortunately, that would not be "business friendly". Modern society has been heavily trained to walk on eggshells around big corporations and that isn't changing any time soon.

vertex-four 8y ago

Of course, if they were given a fine anywhere near the effect on the economy they had, this very forum would be decrying the EU for being overbearing and anti-business.

icelancer 8y ago
Not likely. This forum is very anti-price-fixing and anti-competitiveness, especially with regards to headhunting and wages like Apple/Google had.
- contravariant 8y ago
  Responses were somewhat mixed to the recent Google fine though.
  - nutjob2 8y ago
    I think people here are liable to see Android as a public good, compared to its competition.
AngryData 8y ago
Any time someone decries anti-business, they forgot rule #1, business always finds a way. Even in the hay day for hardcore centralized state communism/production, businesses found a way to get a piece of the pie and enrich themselves.

21 8y ago

Silly you. The rich don't go to jail, you should know by now.

marnett 8y ago
s/the rich/the powerful/g

Confusion 8y ago

In cases such as these fines are usually determined based on the estimated profits, exactly to ensure deterrence.

lightanchor 8y ago

To be clear, in the United States at least, these kinds of penalties are not tax deductible.

matt4077 8y ago

Most corporate malfeasance is dealt with in civil law, not criminal. The EU specifically has almost no role in criminal law anyway, because that power remains with the nation states. The reason is mostly that the corporation also got the profits from such actions, so it makes sense to target that entity with sanctions as well. The system is also designed to encourage companies to create processes to root out bad behaviour, instead of silently encouraging it and denying all responsibility, instead making individuals take the fall. Another reason is that in many of these cases it's not obvious where and when a policy originated, at what point it started breaking the rules, etc. Of course there are still crimes that can get managers into trouble, such as bankruptcy, all sorts of counterfeiting, fraud, etc.