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WE have often written about the Linux Foundation (more than usual so far this year although our coverage of it goes back to its very genesis), taking note or clarifying that this lobbying apparatus of paying members -- including Microsoft -- enjoys tax exemptions. Similarly, the Gates Foundation (covered here quite a lot about a decade ago) lets Bill Gates double his wealth without actually working. Who would compel him to actually pay his taxes? As a perk, the foundation he created acts as lobbying apparatus of Microsoft and Bill Gates' for-profit interests (disguised as 'charity' to bribe the media, bribe officials and stack panels). Then there's the Mozilla Foundation, which mostly exists to make Mozilla Corporation seem more ethical (and avoid the 'pesky' taxes, deducted from highly paid management types' salaries). There's now another one in China, as covered earlier this week in Western and Chinese media. They piggypack "openness" to get that status. In Huawei's case, it's really not clear if HarmonyOS is Free/Libre software; they haven't presented any evidence of it.

"Everyone suffers when there are 'cheats'."We're hopefully not seeing semi-'open' software (or openwashed proprietary software, described as "open" only for marketing purposes) exploited to avoid tax, or leveraged for the perception of public good even when the said foundations are self-serving institutions that pay obscene amounts of people to a dozen or so people. In the case of Bill Gates, his foundation has already helped him evade billions in taxes.

According to Jeremy Sands (Southeast Linuxfest) as per his own words, "the IRS is deeply, deeply distrustful of 501(c)(3)s that are Free Software filings."

Seeing some of the above, we cannot quite blame the IRS. Everyone suffers when there are 'cheats'. ⬆