RDN on tax and morality

Richard, you argued that in the underdeveloped world companies arguably have a moral responsibility not to minimize their tax-payments to governments. But it strikes me that companies operating in, say, Zimbabwe might feel uncomfortable (morally) about paying anything other than the minimum necessary. The bottom line is that the major contribution companies make - in the developed and developing worlds - is what they do and produce and the jobs and prosperity they generate. And all of those benefits can be measured in the overall tax-take everywhere. That is so even if every part of the taxable chain - quite naturally - seeks to minimize their own tax levels. That's the wonder and beauty (and benefit) of developing and growing our economies, which is what big firms spur.