Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft Moves to Reno to Avoid Regular Tax and to India to Avoid Regular Salaries



Summary: Another simplified look at what Microsoft is doing to save money

LAST week we showed that Microsoft was hiring in Reno, which helps its dodging of tax (there are even worse offences [1, 2, 3]). Here is more information on the subject:



The 11 new jobs that Microsoft announced at its Reno operation last week might be the harbinger of something bigger.

After all, the company launched its licensing operation in Reno with only 40 employees in 1997. Today, the Microsoft Licensing GP office employs 250 fulltime Microsoft staff and nearly 400 additional contract workers.

[...]

Microsoft Licensing GP in Reno handles support of licensing agreements with business customers and other organizations in North and South America.


Nowhere in the article does it talk about the impact on tax.

In the video above [via], Reifman, who is a former Microsoft employee, says that Microsoft uses Reno as a form of front. "Its Nevada employees are tools it's using to avoid this tax," he alleges.

He then talks about Microsoft's movement towards India, which is also in this week's news (Microsoft was accused of tax evasion in India and found guilty).

From the Seattle Times:

Microsoft India boss: More overseas work rotations coming



The head of Microsoft's India business group, Ravi Venkatesan, told the Wall Street Journal that companies will be rotating talent to fast-growing countries and having more Indian workers spend time abroad to develop experience.


As we stated last week, "there is a lot to be learned from Microsoft's hiring/layoffs patterns, mostly because Microsoft favours areas of cheaper labour (like China and India) and areas of tax dodging, e.g. Ireland. We provided a lot of evidence before."

More from the Wall Street Journal:

Microsoft Mines India Talent



Ravi Venkatesan, chairman of Microsoft Corp.'s Microsoft Corp. (India) Pvt. Ltd. unit, recently engaged in an email discussion with Wall Street Journal New Delhi Bureau Chief Paul Beckett on topics ranging from the perception of Indian management at multinational corporations to India's technological future. Mr. Venkatesan is responsible for Microsoft's marketing, operational and business development efforts in India.


So to summarise, Microsoft does not properly pay taxes in the United States and it does not keep its workforce in the United States, either. What a selfish company. The laws need to be amended.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft's Windows is a Niche Operating System in Africa
African nations aren't a large contributor to Microsoft's income, but if many African nations move away from Windows, then the monopoly is at risk
Gemini Links 19/06/2025: Unix Primitivism, Zine Club, and Gemini Protocol Turns 6 at Midnight
Links for the day
 
Common Mistake: Believing Social Control Media Will Document Your Writings/Thoughts and Search Engines Like Google Will Help You Find These
Many news sites wrongly assumed that posting directly to Twitter would be acceptable
The Manchester Bees and This Hot Summer
We have had a fantastic week so far this week
Gemini Protocol Enters Its Seventh Year, Growth Has Accelerated!
Maybe in June 20 2026 there will be over 3,500 active capsules?
Mastodon and the Fediverse Have an Issue: Liability for Content (Even in Other Instances) and Costs
self-hosting is the only logical path forward
Why Microsoft and Its 'Hey Hi' (Slop) Frenzy Fail While Sinking in Deep, Growing Debt
Right now, like Twitter around the time it was sold to MElon, "open" "hey hi" is a big pile of debt with a lot to pay for that debt (interest payments)
Europe is Leaving Microsoft, the Press Coverage Isn't Sufficiently Helpful
The news is generally positive, but the press coverage leaves so much to be desired
Slopwatch: Linuxsecurity, BetaNews, and Linux Journal
slippery slope
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, June 19, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, June 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/06/2025: Gemini Protocol Turns 6!
Links for the day
Links 19/06/2025: Ghostwriting Scam and Fentanylware (TikTok) Buying Time
Links for the day
Links 19/06/2025: WhatsApp Identified as Assassination 'Crosshairs', Patreon Now Rips Off People Even More
Links for the day
"Told You So": Another Very Large Wave of Microsoft Layoffs Now Confirmed in Mainstream Media
So we were right to believe the rumours, based on the credibility of prior such rumours
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, June 18, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Gemini Links 18/06/2025: Magit and Farming
Links for the day
Slopwatch: BetaNews is Now a Slopfarm (Like Linuxsecurity) and Google News is Overwhelmed by Slopfarms
The Web is bad
Links 18/06/2025: SCOTUS Decision on Fentanylware (TikTok) Still Ignored, 4.5-Day Work Weeks
Links for the day
Links 17/06/2025: Windows TCO and G7 Rifts
Links for the day
The Right to Know and the Freedom to Report on Crime (at the Higher Echelons)
I'd like to do the same thing for the next 20 years
BetaNews Appears to Have Fired All Of Its Staff
Even serial sloppers
After the Web Becomes Slopped to Death
A lot of people are rightly fed up with the "modern" Web
Gemini Protocol Turns 6 on Friday
Active (online) Gemini capsules are estimated by Lupa at over 3,000
Like Most Social Control Media, Microsoft LinkedIn is Collapsing
One reason for Microsoft acquisitions is debt-loading, i.e. offloading and burying its debt
Microsoft is Losing Its Richest Clients
Unlike some very poor countries, Germany and the EU are a considerable source of income to Microsoft
Proprietary Means Not Secure
Proprietary software tends to rely on secrecy, not good design
Slop in 'AI' Clothing is a Passing Fad, We'll Get Past It (Like Blockchain Before That)
Many people cheat in exams using slop and there are professionals that try using slop as a "shortcut"
GNOME Does Not Campaign Against Microsoft, KDE Does
It's good to see that KDE is still active in promotion of Free software - a term that it uses
Slopwatch: BetaNews, Linuxsecurity, and Other Prolific Slopfarms
name and shame the sites that establish such proliferation of slop
Gemini Links 18/06/2025: Birch Lake and Loon Pond
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 17, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 17, 2025