On Sunday 21 January 2007 09:01, Constantine A. Murenin wrote: > On 20/01/07, J.C. Roberts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > There are some which think the idea of tax exempt status for > > "non-profit" organizations is a good thing since it allows > > individuals to decide what to do with their income. There are > > others which think the idea of tax exempt status for "non-profit" > > organizations is a bad thing since it deprives the state of tax > > revenue which could be used for social programs (i.e. public heath > > care and such). > > Now how is this at all related to the original question? > > > The mozilla foundation is a non-profit, and hence, it *can* get > > special treatment from Google because Google can possibly deduct > > the "payments" made to the foundation. In short, I seriously doubt > > OpenBSD (i.e. individuals) could get the same kind of deal from > > Google. > > www.google.com/firefox > > You might want to check your facts. Mozilla Foundation entity long > ago stopped releasing Firefox, so I would be surprised if MoFo gets > any income from google-firefox-branded search. > > Cheers, > Constantine.
Hi Constantine, The facts are correct but unfortunately they are (intentionally) buried in the legal obfuscation of corporate shells. There is the "Mozilla Foundation" which is a registered non-profit but there is also the "Mozilla Corp" which is a For-Profit corporation. The connection between the two is somewhat dubious. As for the private business dealings between Google, Mozilla Foundation and hence, Mozilla Corp, they are not available for public scrutiny but as always, here in the Silicon Valley people talk... You'll need to read between the lines, but here is some coverage of the usual silicon valley gossip: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6048377.html I believe the correct earnings number is close to $42 Million USD (not the 72 mentioned) earned via the firefox URL/searchbox but since I don't have access to the financial records, I could certainly be wrong. As for why the "non-profit" thing is relevant, it's due to the private deals which allow Mozilla to earn so much from Google and how tax laws apply. If you want OpenBSD to earn money from an URL/searchbox, then similar arrangements must be made... -A For-Profit Corporate front end combined with a Non-Profit organization back end for the sake of routing funds. I brought it up to hopefully avoid yet another "Let's Start a OpenBSD Non-Profit" thread on misc@ and prevent having Theo's inbox flooded with usual crap. Kind Regards, JCR -- cd ~. -Almost Home
