THE KING HEADS NORTH, AYE.

Burger King has announced the purchase of Canadian donut chain, "Tim Horton's", and move part of their corporate headquarters to Onatrio. The move will save Burger King millions of tax dollars, since the Canadian corporate tax rate is 15%. Predicatably, the left went apoplectic when they heard the news. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin denounced the move and vowed to close the loophole that has become known as "corporate inversion." President Obama declared as ""unpatriotic" any US business that moves its headquarters to another country as a tax dodge. So is the King really a joker, or an ace when it comes to patriotism and business strategy?

I wrote in a previous blog that the US corporate tax rate of 35% is the highest in the world, which means US companies are at a decided disadvantage when competing in the world market. Last year, Burger King paid a rate of 27%. Compare that to the Canadian rate of 15%, and its clear why the King booked. Corporations don't become and remain successful by being stupid. When the rest of us ordinary folks do our taxes every year, do we not seek out and utilize every legal tax advantage we can find? Only a total idiot would refuse to do so. Afterall, our incomes and corporate revenues are not the property of the government.

When the likes of Obama and Durbin accuse companies of being "unpatriotic," they portray this legal tax loophole as a way to steal money from working people, and predict economic disaster. The only "whoppers" being cooked up come from the Dems, who fear the loss of their welfare state financing.

Let's leave off the pickles and mustard and take a bite of the real numbers. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that over the next 10 years, US corporations will pay 4.5 trillion dollars in taxes. The CBO also estimates that losses from "corporate inversion" will amount to a microscopic 0.5% of those tax revenues over the next decade. Hardly a financial apocalypse.

Don't blame Burger King. The King is just doing what any rational person would do: He is hiding his money from the muggers.