Bonum Certa Men Certa

Yet More Microsoft Staff (Now Suzan DelBene) Enters Government to Assist Microsoft's Looting of the System

Seattle by night



Summary: Microsoft veterans sneakily take over key positions in government and enable Microsoft to not pay tax, passing all the burden to poor people and leading to cancellation of state programmes

FROM a Microsoft employee who at last saw the light and decided to expose his former employer for what it does to avoid paying tax (financial misconduct notwithstanding) come some new posts that help reveal how Microsoft uses politics to essentially loot the public at large. The latest posts are:



i. Thank Ross Hunter for Making Microsoft's Record Profit Untaxable

Under Democratic Rep. Ross Hunter's leadership in the Washington State Legislature, Microsoft's licensing revenue is no longer taxable in Washington. Hunter led the change to Washington's royalty tax so that only licensing revenue sold to Washington State customers is taxable. Prior to 2010, worldwide royalty revenue was taxable.

Hunter is a former 17 year veteran of Microsoft, now head of the powerful finance committee. Rather than apportion the royalty tax (which resulted in only a tiny gain in state revenues), Hunter could have adopted stricter enforcement language around out of state tax transactions such as was proposed by the state's Department of Revenue. Since 1998, Microsoft has used a small office in Reno, Nevada to record its worldwide royalty profits - avoiding nearly $1.25 billion in tax liabilities.


ii. Now for what really matters...

If there's one thing I learned the past year working the Microsoft tax dodge issue, it's that the state legislature is pretty well bought and paid for by corporations like Microsoft. Who would have thought Rep. Ross Hunter would lead the charge to raise taxes on voters while giving Microsoft a giant back door tax cut? Well, at least today, we'll see what voters think of Ross Hunter's efforts.


iii. Microsoft's Nevada Employees Probably Shouldn't Joke About Criminal Activity

If you want to know what the Kool-Aid tastes like at Microsoft, check out this clip of its Nevada Licensing employees offering up their own "I'm a PC" anecdotes. It's not quite as cringeworthy as the Windows 7 Launch Party and not as bizarre as the IE8 vomit girl ad, but it's definitely painful to watch.

I was most intrigued by this brief segment in which an apparent Reno-based Microsoft Licensing employee jokes, "I'm a P.C. and I'm a criminal." On the wall in the background, there appear to be pictures of two to three other mugshot photos - perhaps also Reno employees? Exactly what is she referring to?


iv. An Update on Microsoft's Nevada Tax Operations and Washington State's Budget Deficit

* Most people in Seattle (and Washington State), know nothing at all about Microsoft's Nevada tax practice in part due to the fact that The Seattle Times has never reported the story.

* Local coverage of this issue does not appear to be improving. e.g. The Gates Foundation gave $400,000 to local news blog Crosscut.com, which later was caught removing anti-Microsoft sentiment from a published editorial by the University of Washington's Bill and Melinda Gates Chair of the Computer Science and Engineering Department.

* Perhaps due to the lack of awareness of his actions, King County voters re-elected Rep. Ross Hunter. Diane Tebelius, Hunter's Republican opponent never mentioned the Microsoft tax dodge, though she was briefed on it (by me), presumably because she did not want to alienate Microsoft employees in her district.


v. Ex-Microsoft Executive to Lead Washington State Department of Revenue

Today, Governor Gregoire appointed former nine year Microsoft executive Suzan DelBene to run Washington State's Department of Revenue. DelBene's husband Kurt is President of Microsoft's Office Division. DelBene's basically a marketing executive, although she recently ran unsuccessfully to unseat Congressional GOP Rep. Reichert. As far as I know she has no formal background in tax law. Full disclosure: I used to work with Ms. DelBene and for her husband Kurt at Microsoft in the early 1990s.

[...]

The Seattle Times has reported in the past that Mrs. DelBene is also a longtime friend of Representative Ross Hunter. Hunter is the 17 year ex-Microsoft veteran who as Democratic chair of the powerful legislative finance committee led the move to apportion the state's royalty tax, getting Microsoft off the hook for up to $145 million annually in taxes and potentially over $1.24 billion in back taxes, interest and penalties. Since 1998, Microsoft has recorded the bulk of its software licensing revenue in Nevada to avoid Washington State's royalty tax. This blog regularly questions the legality of this accounting practice.


Rick Perry is already pulling a fast one and it is worth emphasising that Microsoft has debt to repay while it claims to have possession of money (we are sceptical of it). To quote a recent article:

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) just borrowed $6 billion even though it has roughly $40 billion in idle cash. Crazy.


Crazy indeed. Why borrow money when you already have money? As other sites have been pointing out, this may indicate that Microsoft is hiding or distorting something, just as it distorts numbers in its reports to the SEC. But anyway, sticking to the subject of tax, here is some information about the Microsoft veteran who enters the government to become head of Department of Revenue. Amazing!

DelBene, a former vice president for marketing on Microsoft's mobile communications team, contributed $2.3 million of her own money to her campaign. She is married to Kurt DelBene, the current president of Microsoft's Office business.


Crony capitalism in action. For more about her, see the text here. Todd Bishop claims that "Microsoft pedigree isn't enough to ensure a Congressional victory in the company's home region." That's a straw man argument. Nobody suggested that Microsoft pedigree alone is enough to assure such a position. Bishop at least mentions this: "Also of note on the state level: Incumbent state Rep. Ross Hunter, another Microsoft veteran and Democrat, is facing a tough fight for his seat. He's leading Republican challenger Diane Tebelius, but the race was still too close to call as of early this morning. Hunter has come under criticism for helping to enable the company's practice of recording software royalty revenue in Nevada, reducing its tax bill in its home state by an estimated $100 million a year."

The same blog said right in the headline that "Ex-Microsoft exec DelBene to head state revenue department" and ABC (Bill Gates-sponsored) hosted content from AP, saying that "Gov. Gregoire Appoints Suzan DelBene to Cabinet" (nothing at all about the Microsoft tax controversy).

Former congressional candidate Suzan DelBene was appointed director of the state Department of Revenue on Tuesday, with Gov. Chris Gregoire saying that the former Microsoft executive "has the knowledge, skills and experience needed to guide the agency through what is a transformative time for the department and the state."


This article from AP also appeared in MSN. Microsoft ought to like such shallow reporting which bothers not at all with the real issues. There is more news from Reno, where Microsoft manages to arrange the Washington tax avoidance. "Angle Appears at Reno's Microsoft Licensing" says the headline.

Lately, every day feels like Election Day. The frenzy is everywhere from those TV commercials, to sign-crowded intersections. And protestor-frenzy, in Reno to greet Sharron Angle as she made a Monday visit to Microsoft Licensing off Neil Road. Microsoft would not let us in…we weren't exactly invited. Angle's campaign did not even tell us ahead of time that she was appearing. Outside was a group of protestors, comprised of a man in a chicken outfit, 2 Reid campaign workers, one unemployed volunteer, and 3 members of local 3, the operators-engineers union. They told us they're not getting any work. Union apprentice Ronald Feemster told us he'd "like to see somebody in office that might actually do some good for northern Nevada." As to why he doesn't blame the current administration, including Harry Reid, he told us, "Because I feel it was inherited."


Elsewhere in the news it's now announced that many programmes are being cut in Washington and citizens are furious. One site has nearly 1000 comments posted in response. It contains a lot of finger-pointing, with Microsoft and xenophobia being the lead topics.

It ought to be added that Microsoft's avoidance of tax and the cronyism which enables it were never a US-only issue. Microsoft was found guilty in other countries and in Europe it is using Ireland as a tax haven, with severe consequences to the whole of Europe. From the new article titled "Consequences of the Irish Bailout":

The key bailout test was whether or not Ireland would retain its 12.5% corporation tax, which has attracted a number of giant multi-nationals to relocate there -- such as Google (GOOG), Pfizer (PFE), and Microsoft (MSFT) -- much to the annoyance of other European countries, especially France and Germany who had this at the top of their conditions hit list. The fact that Ireland has apparently retained sovereignty over the corporation tax bodes well for eventual economic recovery as the relocated multi-nationals account for more than 70% of Irelands exports and generate more than 50% in corporation tax revenues, without which Ireland truly would be bust for the next decade.


Also see this new case of blackmail, titled "Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard Warn Ireland on Tax, Telegraph Says". Well, via a lobby group, the Chamber of Commerce, Microsoft is driving its interests in Europe, at the expense of mere people as opposed to corporations. The article says: "The American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland warned the country that an increase in its corporate tax as part of a European Union and International Monetary rescue package may damage foreign investment, the Sunday Telegraph reported." The Irish Times has published an article titled "The people person at Microsoft", but Microsoft does not care about people; it cares only about its shareholders who are mostly in the US.

One can conveniently ignore all of this, but Techrights will not.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Our Case is a Very Easy Win, the SLAPPs From Microsofters Were a Grave Error, and Censoring Information Won't Work (It'll Only Ever Backfire)
Censoring is what people do when they lose the argument
 
Links 04/06/2025: WSL Backfiring on Microsoft and "Disney, Microsoft Announce Massive Layoffs"
Links for the day
Say the Truth, the Rest Will Follow
There's no guarantee that writing the truth will result in an audience (or readership), but over time - in the long run - people generally gravitate towards what they know or feel to be crude truth, not just what's comforting (albeit false or self-deluding, usually groupthink dictated from above)
How to Expose High-Level Corruption Without Getting in (Too Much) Trouble
Democracy depends on free press and freedom of the press depends on being able to safely publish (and keep available) material that bad people don't want to be known to anybody
In-Depth EPO Coverage at Techrights Turns Eleven
11 years is a very long time
Windows Measured Below 10% in Afghanistan, GNU/Linux Gaining a Lot
about 80% are Android (Linux) users, compared to only about 10% for Windows
Poland's Political Predicament and Social Control Media
Democracy and fake "tech" don't mix well; the latter tends to interfere with the former and that's why we get more "Putins" out there
EPO: Taking Away From the Staff to Give More to the Rich
The Central Staff Committee (CSC) wrote to EPO staff earlier this week
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 03, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 03, 2025
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part I: It's a Lot Like the EPO
we can commence a series soon
Gemini Links 04/06/2025: Inescapable Questions and Quitting All "Oligarch Tech"
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Linux FUD From Slopfarms, Blaming Linux for Microsoft Issues; Even WebProNews Has Become a Slopfarm (Googlebombing "Linux" With Slop Images and Fake/Plagiarised Text)
The Web is really getting bad; it's also overwhelmed by fake material or plagiarised material, wherein the plagiarism gets disguised/hidden by LLM sausage factories
Links 03/06/2025: Tiananmen Square Massacre Censorship and Growing Military Activities Around Taiwan
Links for the day
Linux is Already Dominant (Android), Let's Make GNU/Linux Dominant in Desktops/Laptops as Well
"Dr. Stallman recently warned everybody about Microsoft."
The Loyalty to Microsoft and the Salaries From Microsoft (Funding SLAPPs Against Techrights and Tux Machines)
Garrett always knows better. He knows everything best.
Windows Falls in Italy as GNU/Linux Jumps to 5%
Italy knows a thing or two about digital autonomy
Nigeria is All Android and Google
Windows down to almost nothing in Africa's largest population
Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (Second Wave) Not Limited to Redmond
"More layoffs at Microsoft as axe falls in Washington and California"
Gemini Links 03/06/2025: Forth System and "Common Lisp is a Dumpster"
Links for the day
The Leaks Were Right: Mass Layoffs at Microsoft in May, Then Another Wave in June
Just as we've been saying for over a month
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 02, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 02, 2025
Last Article From Australia's Sam Varghese Was a Year Ago and It Covered the Release of Julian Assange, Who Will Apparently Come Back as 'Politician'
It'll soon be exactly 12 months
Hungary Seems Hungry for Linux
Windows down by a lot
Like in Europe, Bad News for Microsoft in US and Canada
If it loses those "regions", then what's left?
About 8 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft in 2025 (in Less Than 5 Months), Now Vista 11 "Market Share" Decreases
Really bad news for shareholders of Microsoft
statCounter Sees Bing "Share" Falling Over 0.5% in One Month, Now Lower Than Before the ChatGPT/Bing Chat Hype
Bing has been part of the mass layoffs for quite some time
After Microsoft's Bankruptcy in Russia Android (Linux) Will Dominate Asia Completely
Windows probably peaked in "XP" or "2000"
Microsoft's Demise is a Global Phenomenon
mass layoffs justified using mindless buzzwords
All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux in EU and the UK, All-Time Lows for Microsoft
Combining ChromeOS and GNU/Linux, it adds up to and almost reaches 6%
India: Windows Falls to 50% in Desktops/Laptops and 8% Overall
laptops/desktops fell to 16% of the whole
statCounter: GNU/Linux Up to 4.7% "Market Share" This Month
30,000 Microsoft jobs may be eliminated by year's end
Microsoft is in Trouble and Microsofters Know It
"I've been happy on Win 3.11 for years."
[Video] New Introduction to Richard Stallman's Contributions Including GNU Emacs, GNU/Linux, and Software Freedom
from the channel previously bullied for supporting RMS
Links 02/06/2025: South Korea to Vote, Russia Blitzed From Within
Links for the day
Links 02/06/2025: Political Leftovers, DRM, and Patents
Links for the day
Links 02/06/2025: Microsoft Spins Layoffs as "Slop", Frontier Settles Lawsuit
Links for the day
When You Publicly Boast About Wanting to Violently Attack People (Even Colleagues) Finding a Job Will Prove Difficult
there's a lesson to be learned here
The Web We Lost, the Information Lost Due to Microsoft's Attacks on Companies Like Yahoo! (Before the LLM Slop Frenzy)
When it comes to news sites, what can we say?
Covering Corruption in Poland, Including a War on Science (Due to Bad Politicians)
What we're about to show is that skilled and experienced scientists in Poland are besieged by bureaucrats
Gemini Links 02/06/2025: "Star Wars Day" and "Security Day"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 01, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 01, 2025