Cooperatives, Communes, Tax Shelter, etc. Lot's of Qs/

[goodIntentions]

First off, hello! I just found this forum today and I think I'll make an account, but before I get started I have to make this thread because these questions have been eating away at me and the information is difficult to find and read through.

my "bio" just for some perspective: 24 years old, recent business grad from a great school. self proclaimed anarchist of about 4 years. i came to anarchism through eastern philosophy and meditation, then read about it a lot online as well as in a book or two.

So.

I've been interested in cooperatively operated businesses as a way to not only get a nice slice of anarchist-consistent living, but also as a way to spread the idea that organizations can be more voluntary and democratic, etc. Only once we have a solid economic foundation of democratically controlled businesses can we expect to be able to live well without the state.

My question for YOU, is this: what kind of financial insulation so-to-speak can such an organization experience? Tax sheltering?

For instance, can a group of 10 individuals form a commune and incorporate? Their living expenses would be paid for as business expenses (and any trading/bartering internally would be invisible) and profits are reinvested in whatever low-risk investments the group is interested in. In such a situation, you would have 10 individuals with very low income (low tax bracket), but most of their living expenses would already be covered by the corporation. You would also have a corporation with a very low tax because most if not all of the net profit would be reinvested or spent (to better the quality of life of the members).

To be clear, I'm not looking to do anything illegal, I've just been curious about some of the real benefits of operating collectively within a capitalist society after I heard about the technique some cooperatives use to keep taxes low, which was to pay out all profits to members, leaving the corporation to be taxed nothing. The problem with this is, however, that then all the members will fall into higher tax brackets.

I know it's legal for a corporation to buy its members food, but where does it end? Clothing? Utilities? Shelter?

Thanks everyone!

PS. Your captcha-alternative list test category game thing is the most difficult and complicated confirmation system I have come across. congrats. "Which nomenclature apply to Chuck Jone's roadrunner?" Really? Velocitus Incalculus? I can hardly even find reference of that in Google.

[ian6]

I don't know much about company so I can't help, but a really good idea would be only producing goods, with a tiny bit of money to get incorporated and not paying people any thing, then you can have all your members cheat welfare and food stamps

[michaeljl]

I'm interested in something very similar right now, actually, but I don't know the answer. I would love to open up a dialogue on the topic sometime, though.