Re: [gentoo-nfp] Consequences of moving the Gentoo foundation somewhere else (Was: Gentoo Foundation Trustees nominations)

[Francisco Blas Izquierdo Riera (klondike)]

El 12/07/17 a las 16:15, Rich Freeman escribió:
> On Wed, Jul 12, 2017 at 9:53 AM, Francisco Blas Izquierdo Riera
> (klondike) <klondike@g.o> wrote:
>> Keep in mind that although the Gentoo
>> Foundation is based on the USA, there is no reason (other than statu quo
>> and therefore ease of management) to keep it there.
>>
> Really?  Certainly many other reasons have been brought up on the
> lists, but a few that come to mind include:
>
> 1.  Lower regulatory overhead.  For as much difficulty as we seem to
> have filing our taxes/etc, the paperwork in the US is a lot easier
> than in many places from what I've heard.
Well I have been involved in the creation of such organizations in Spain
and Sweden. Spain sucks in this aspect a lot. The procedure in Sweden is
a lot more simpler but you have to take care of presenting taxes in
Skatteverket which can be a bit more painful.
> 2.  Tax benefits for US donors, assuming we ever get 501c3 status.
> I'm not sure how important this really is, but a LOT of organizations
> set up 501c3s in the US for this reason alone.
Similar benefits exist in other places of the world, in Spain for
example
http://www.agenciatributaria.es/AEAT.internet/Inicio/Ayuda/Manuales__Folletos_y_Videos/Manuales_de_ayuda_a_la_presentacion/Ejercicio_2016/_Ayuda_Modelo_100/9__Cumplimentacion_IRPF__Anexo_A/9_4__Deducciones_por_donativos_y_otras_aportaciones/9_4_2__Donativos_con_limite_del_10_por_100_de_la_base_liquidable/9_4_2__Donativos_con_limite_del_10_por_100_de_la_base_liquidable.html

I know that such fiscal benefits were removed from Sweden though.

> 3.  A big part of the Foundation's purpose is to be an IP holding
> entity, and the US has some of the strongest IP laws in the world.  If
> for some reason we wanted to pursue a GPL violation case against
> somebody we would get a lot further as a US company in a US court than
> we would in a lot of other countries.  I'm not saying I love US IP
> law.  I'm just pointing out that the reason copyleft works is because
> of copyright, and stronger copyright laws actually result in stronger
> copyleft protections.  This is the beauty of copyleft - maybe some day
> we'll see IP law reform, but until then having access to US courts
> does help make the system work for us.  I didn't mention trademark but
> the protections are strong there as well.
Well, as soon as you get outside of US jurisdiction, after all
violations can and do happen anywhere on the world, you end up with the
International conventions, which involve, amongst others, the Berne
Convention, the Paris Convention or the Madrid Convention.

In our case, since exploitation of Gentoo can happen anywhere on the
world such should be the main frameworks we should be used to as USA
can't put fines or anything for actions carried out of their jurisdiction.

> There are of course benefits to being elsewhere as well and you've
> touched on some of those.  I'm not dismissing that.  However, I think
> it is a bit of a stretch to say that there are NO benefits to being
> incorporated in the US beyond the status quo.
Keep in mind that my point here is more as follows: "IIF being a
national of X country prevents you from being a trustee because of the
regulatory framework where the Gentoo Foundation is based, maybe  it is
time to consider other countries". This would matter beecause "Gentoo
lives for the community, by the community" and excluding part of the
community in our actions would go against such principle.
> IMO there are probably benefits to having access to legal entities in
> a few countries, but I'm not sure I'd want them to be Foundation
> subsidiaries.  And of course it requires people to step up and make it
> happen, and keep it going.
Ugh, I'm reminding now about all these wikimedia chapter thing and how
badly it went, until we get more people willing to do it I doubt it will
be possible (although I agree it would be positive).

rich0 I was serious when I nominated you though so, please consider
accepting the nomination :)