The discovery by some congressmen that innovative companies have avoided paying legally avoided paying U.S. federal income tax on billions of dollars of net income has many in the media outraged and questioning the ethics of their actions. According to Chuck Bentley, “The case of Apple’s excessive success at legal tax avoidance should lead our legislators to examine the real unethical practices with our current system – sacred political cows allowed to opt out of taxes and political constituencies given a free pass. An estimated one-half of all Americans pay no federal income tax while the top five per cent of wage earners pay nearly 50% of the revenues collected by the federal government. Chuck Bentley is CEO of Crown, a nonprofit business and personal finance policy and educational organization.
“Punishing the most efficient stewards of resources to garner more for the most inefficient users who often redistribute it for political favors and special interests is not good public policy. Partisan use and abuse of the IRS and the tax code is also an ethical issue. Placing a contrived burden on political rivals and protecting political allies and their cash does not build confidence in the current system. This should be another focus of outrage.”
A few years ago, Google was criticized for paying “only” 2.4 percent tax on its foreign-source income, much as, say, Toyota pays tax to the IRS on its US-source income. Good tax policy is based on the common-sense notion of “territorial taxation,” which means governments only tax income and activity within their national borders. Unfortunately, the American tax system is partially based on the anti-competitive policy of “worldwide taxation,” which means the IRS gets to tax income that is earned – and already subject to tax – in other nations. Fortunately, we have a policy called “deferral,” which allows companies to postpone this second layer of tax.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
