United States corporations used to be legally allowed to write off the lucrative bribes they paid to foreign government officials as standard business expenses on their federal tax returns.

A closer look

United States corporations used to be legally allowed to write off the lucrative bribes they paid to foreign government officials as standard business expenses on their federal tax returns. Up until the practice was finally targeted and outlawed by legislation in the late 1970s and fully clarified in the 1980s, handing a briefcase full of unmarked cash to a corrupt overseas dictator was considered a totally normal, tax-deductible operational cost by the Internal Revenue Service. It perfectly highlights the completely arbitrary and morally bankrupt nature of international corporate taxation, where a multi-billion dollar conglomerate could literally subsidize its illegal international espionage through the American taxpayer. Meanwhile, if a modern freelance graphic designer tries to deduct the cost of their home internet connection, they will likely face a devastating financial audit that destroys their entire pathetic livelihood