HalliburtonWatch reports that contracting giant Halliburton is moving its corporate headquarters from the United States to the United Arab Emirates, which will help it avoid taxes and accountability from federal investigators. The company is also in the process of disposing all its ownership in the scandal-plagued KBR, “notorious for overcharging the military and serving contaminated food and water to the troops in Iraq.” The article goes on to report that this isn’t the first time Halliburton has used tactics to avoid accountability and restrictions:
Halliburton has also used its operational structure for contracts in Iraq and post-Katrina — especially multiple layers of subcontractors — to elude oversight and accountability to taxpayers. Read more at HalliburtonWatch.
ThinkProgress.org also writes about the move, and reports that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) told ABC News that Halliburton’s move was:
“corporate greed at it’s worst. This is an insult to U.S. soldiers and taxpayers. At the same time they’ll be avoiding U.S. taxes, I’m sure they won’t stop insisting on taking their profits in cold hard U.S. cash.”
This behavior by American based companies relocating or threatening to relocate is always a looming threat, and they leverage politicians with it quite often. I wish we as citizens also had something to leverage these hogs away from the trough with. Then we would not have to be the only ones stiffed with their self serving bills.
Anything from Sensenbrenner, Leahy, or Spector about “insult to U.S. soldiers and taxpayers” is rediculous, and should be ignored as if they were telemarketers, insurance claim adjusters, or child molesters. These are the same guys on the Judiciary Commitees who created the Patriot Act that denies every “U.S soldier and taxpayer”, nearly all of his and her inalianble rights. And boy were those debates one hell of an engineering feat.
Search “Carnivore” to discover that the UN voted its use down three weeks before September 11, 2001, after ten years and millions of dollars per year of develoment by U.S. and British corporations that are working in the Arab Emerites right now, spying on U.S. citizens from abroad.
They have recently become concerned with the Patriot Act only because some of their fellow Congressmen and Congresswomen have had the Patriot Act focus on them. Not that they really have anything to worry about. And no matter what foriegn people they were striking a bargain with, that may have been instrumental in threatening this Democracy that used to be ours, they will never be charged. Blame it on Haliburten.
Wouldn’t you leave if you could afford to? That or be stolen from until they have to jail you because you are too mad not to be a threat. They aren’t building up a giant police nation armed to the teeth because they think we really like them or vote for them.
There is no law against voting with your feet, and run rabbit run, if they set their sights on you. They are carnivorous.
Justice? Insults? Read about the European Union’s decision on or about June of 2006, concerning treaties that required European companies and government agencies to spy on Americans abroad and travelling abroad. If you can find information about this ruling on our side of the pond, it found that this wasteful behavior violated EU Constitutional law concerning basic privacy rights expected for all human beings. Leahy, Sennslessbrenner, and Spector were still windbagging while the EU was recognizing our inalienable rights.
Not the British by the way, cuz theys is withus and amungstus, as they always are with their other colonies. They don’t seem as concerned about egalitarian rule as say, some third world Nations might be.
It is amazing that they only truth in the entire Halliburton moves it’s corporate headquaters article is that they are moving their corporate headquaters. The only person who will move is the CEO, the taxes will still get paid in the US, it will still be a US company (regardless of what you think about it). Halliburton’s biggest competitor (Schlumberger) is a French company.
Response to Kevin Smith:
Not that this matters, but Halliburten is moving corporate headquarters to UAE, and that does mean that they will not be paying taxes to the U.S., but they probably never did. And if you are willing to move there, you can make money tax free as well, because they are concerned with building more than rebuilder.
They will dump the part of their business that contracts with the military(KBR), so that will continue to hire taxpayers from all over the world, but not necessarily to the U.S. coffers. Not many Americans can start companies capable of replacing those jobs by the way, so foriegn money will come in and employ people for less to pay more taxes.
We have that kind of open to take what you want from us economy. I am no fan of any corporation, but the people who make laws have done us a worse diservice, by selling us out economically.
Amen to that Robert.
You need to better define what “Corporate Headquarters” constitute in this case and thus the true impact. Halliburton remains incorporated in Delaware. Their principle place of business remains in Houston. Thus, their legal and tax obligations with regard to American law remain the same. I don’t see much credibility in a bizarre theory that the CEO is “hiding” in Dubai. Any CEO in an American-based international company travels extensively enough to be readily accessible to anyone with legitimate authority in this country.
You also need to explain exactly how they are “avoiding” taxes, because your assessment seems to conflict with the current tax code and is without substance. Without specifying these “tax breaks” your comments are as credible as any rumor (and not all rumor begins with a grain of truth). If there is any substantial tax benefit, I would love to see it put forth. Whatever Halliburton calls the move for marketing purposes, the reality of their office in Dubai is that their tax situation remains essentially the same. Feel free to continue your assault against corporations, but at least attack them with accuracy rather than a dishonest PR campaign.
Response to Fred -
Do you work for Haliburton? Your response is shifty and snibe. Anyway, do you feel the war should even be outsourced in the first place?
people ask what can we do,how can we stand against such large companys and mass corruption how can we make a change. one person can’t do it it is up to US as a whole to stand up an say NO MORE! small rallys spread out here and there won’t be enough our voice must be heard. this country is yours it’s ours this country belongs to our children. if we dont make a stand there wont be a country.i dont look at myself as a leader or one that has all the answers but one thing i know for sure, i work 40+ hours a week just to keep food on the table an that there are 10million+ people just like me praying that our kids can make it through school alive. things have gone very wrong in so many ways.the following is from The Declaration of Independence “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government” that is OUR right. we have asked for answers we have asked for change.we are asked to be patriotic to this country and i say we should be, we should be very patRIOTic. LET OUR VOICE BE HEARD LET THE GROUND SHAKE BENEATH OUR FEET!! only as 1 can we make a change.
Response to K. Smith:
Fred is right. If you want to feed information to people, you SHOULD have some form of proof to back up your claims. And it’s pretty twisted to accuse somebody of working for the “bad guys” just because they argue against a single point. Uh-oh, somebody argues against (a small piece of) what you believe in, that makes him the enemy! That strikes me as exceedingly similar to over-zealous patriots calling people terrorists if they don’t support the war. Also, just because somebody is able to eloquently argue his point doesn’t make him “snibe”.
Well, I don’t support the war. It makes me sick. What makes me even more sick is the fact that the side that I support can also be so incredibly ignorant.
But I guess that’s why it’s so easy for the government and private corporations to hoodwink the American people. We don’t make it very difficult, do we?
How do the people responsible for these crimes sleep at night. Greed is the root of all evil. We have put power in the hands of the men without conscience. If there crimes are not paid for in this world, which I belive will happen, they will pay in the next. (which I also belive will happen)
Here is an Idea if you don’t like it get out of the Country