There is definitely a lot of misunderstanding here.
This provision can and does lead companies to owe significantly more in taxes than they make.
The only reason it hasn't been bigger news, is because most companies are pretending it doesn't exist and just sweeping it under the rug, hoping it will get fixed before enforcement gets serious.
I think the real reason it isn't bigger news is because the second you talk about tax code people start to tune out. It's easier to wind people up over AI taking jobs than it is to try and explain what amortization means.
> The only reason it hasn't been bigger news, is because most companies are pretending it doesn't exist and just sweeping it under the rug, hoping it will get fixed before enforcement gets serious.
Why pretend that it doesn’t exist? Why not vocally lobby for a change in the tax code?
There is bipartisan support to repeal the change. Meanwhile, further changes to the tax code are being prepared by the administration, very probably containing further such time-delayed footguns that will be the problem of the next administration to clean up, making them look like they raise taxes.
Nope, payroll is a significant part of the expenses even of FAANGs. Or at least of the entities that employ people in the US. And they very much benefit from the startup ecosystem as they can just cherry-pick among them, buy up prospective disruptors and new technologies, and disassemble them for spare parts.
This provision can and does lead companies to owe significantly more in taxes than they make.
The only reason it hasn't been bigger news, is because most companies are pretending it doesn't exist and just sweeping it under the rug, hoping it will get fixed before enforcement gets serious.