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Comment by franczesko | Hacker News Reader

The alternative might be Google paying their fair share of taxes. I might consider supporting their product then. Ad blocking is not as severe as tax avoidance though.

I have no sympathy for the service. If it's not profitable, Google can cover it from their other revenue streams with ease.

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That sounds like one of these reasons that people come up with to justify their unwillingness to pay.

Are you also boycotting every other large company that uses the tax system in a legal way that you don't agree with? I'm all for big companies paying their fair share, but I'm not blaming the company, I'm blaming the people in charge who don't close these loopholes. Same issue as with Ireland in the EU, undercutting all the other EU countries with tax rates.

One option if you want to fight back in the exact same way: Sign up for YouTube Premium through a cheaper country and pay $2/month instead of 15.

They game our tax system, we game their ad system. It works both ways.

Ad blocking is not illegal. If I can do it, as Google does with taxes, I see no reason why I shouldn't.

> Are you also boycotting every other large company that uses the tax system in a legal way that you don't agree with?

Umm, where possible why wouldn't one choose to avoid giving your money to companies that behave in ways you object to?

Voting with your wallet is always the best, my point was that most (all?) big companies will use the tax system in a way to give them the best outcome that's possible through legal means.

> most (all?) big companies will use the tax system in a way to give them the best outcome that's possible through legal means

Not every company feels the need to set up their corporate structures to revolve around Luxembourg (or whatever the regional equivalent is in your part of the globe).

The mental contortions freeloaders do to feel better about themselves are always fascinating to watch on HackerNews.

Somehow it seems really hard for people here to be honest with themselves and admit that they really just want YT for free and someone else (Google) to shoulder the cost. And they also whant to rant at Google while they pay for their services. :)

When Google receives tax breaks from the US, it is another form of welfare “freeloading”. A tax break is indistinguishable from a handout except by name.

When wahnfrieden receives ad-free video from YouTube, it is another form of welfare "freeloading". An adblocker is indifferent from a handout except by name.

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