A. This firm is one of many successful pest exterminators in a small city. It competes with its rivals on price and service, but all of the firms' products are essentially the same. B. This firm is a grocery store in a rural town. The nearest other grocery store is 30 miles away. C. This firm is one of a handful of cement manufacturers in a small country. There are barriers to entry due to the necessity of controlling specific resources to make cement. D. This firm is in retail. It is one of the largest and most popular wholesale beauty supply stores in the country. It competes with many rivals, and there is intense price competition.

You are chairman of the board of a successful technology firm. there is a nominal federal corporate tax rate of 35 percent, yet the effective tax rate of the typical corporation is about 12.6%. your firm has been clever with use of transfer pricing and keeping money abroad and has barely paid any taxes over the last 5 years; during this same time period, profits were $28 billion. one member of the board feels that it is un-american to use various accounting strategies in order to avoid paying taxes. others feel that these are legal loopholes and corporations have a fiduciary responsibility to minimize taxes. one board member quoted what the ceo of exxon once said: “i’m not a u. s. company and i don’t make decisions based on what’s good for the u. s.” what are the alternatives? what are your recommendations? why do you recommend this course of action?