David Harsanyi Reacts to the Left's Reaction to Burger King
Burger King plans to merge with Canuck coffee-and-doughnut chain Tim Hortons and base the company's headquarters in Canada, where it will enjoy the kind of reasonable corporate tax structure that Democrats continue to obstruct here in the United States. And the move has provoked a fresh round of moral panic, faux patriotism, and confusion from those on the left.
But the Burger King move isn't really about tax "inversion" anyway, argues David Harsanyi. This is a merger. Tim Hortons has a $9.9 billion market cap and generated more revenue than Burger King last year, so it seems implausible that the deal was made for reasons of tax sedition alone. When you merge with a company from another country, one that helps diversify your reach worldwide, it seems like a basic fiduciary responsibility to place your headquarters in the spot that offers you the best business climate. And that's probably what's driving a lot of the overwrought reaction to this merger: The consequences of high corporate taxation could not be more apparent.
