Let's not forget about Taxes!

Yet, it seems common for folks to ignore the 2 certainties. Well, except the ultra-rich corporations and individuals who do whatever they can to avoid taxes. 

But shouldn't we all look at everything on an after-tax basis?

Despite bankers and investors looking at businesses based on pre-tax metrics like Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA), the money the company gets to retain and give back to shareholders (i.e. dividends and buybacks) or grow externally (i.e. acquisitions) uses after-tax money. Of course, companies growing organically will get to use pre-tax profits to fund their internal growth so may not even have any taxable corporate income (i.e. Amazon). Sooner or later though, they will need to utilize other options to grow or generate value for shareholders and that after-tax profit will be important. Why else would the big tech companies like Google and Apple be setting up offices in tax havens like Ireland or Luxembourg?

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