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Comment by puppetaccount | Hacker News Reader

Thank you for sharing your experiences. They gave me some very useful perspective.

Glad to hear that.

Sometimes these situations are ambiguous, and confusing. In some cultures, this would be a normal part of doing business and it's commonly accepted. In some places, you can even claim these 'bribes' against tax...!

Generally it comes down to being comfortable with your choices, and ensuring that everything you do is completely legal.

If you need to invest $1,000-$2,000 for a lawyer to write a legal opinion, and this will make it likely to safely get a deal worth $15,000, it may be the right decision.

Good luck!

I've lived in 'some culture' for years and I can say that 1) yes, there are situations where you can account for bribes in your taxes but 2) it's still never normal or accepted.

I've never been in the situation where there was the illusion that what was talking place was ok. It's dirty, cloak and dagger (making gifts or payments is always an exercise in creativity) and heads generally roll if it's exposed.

Money spent for corruption was tax deductable in Germany until a few years ago. Though only when you used it on a non-German or outside Germany or so. The reason ran along the lines of `Everyone else is doing it, so we just level the playing field for German companies.' I am glad this hypocrisy ended.

The U.S. was one of the first nations to make it illegal for its own citizens to pay bribes overseas with the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The bill passed even though the US knew we'd lose business overseas. It was also very steady U.S. pressure that helped move Europe to do the same a couple decades later-- this was on the top of the U.S. trade agenda with Europe for a long time.

Thanks.

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