In a deep audit, every dollar that is not documented can be considered a bribe. It's up to the business to show otherwise. Small payments for continued business are fine, for example, but start-up bribes are out of bounds. Yet bribes are an inherent part of business life in many countries. So U.S. companies must choose between accepting a competitive disadvantage, sneaking around the law, or giving up.
Most countries have no statutes against bribing foreign officials.
Indeed, the tax codes of wight European countries, as well as New Zealand and Australia, make foreign bribes a deductible business expense. After all, it's not the fault of the businessman that a foreign government extracts bribes as a condition of producing or selling. In many countries, bribes are the only means for outwitting leviathan, and thus serve as an institutional bulwark of prosperity. Think of it in terms of market pricing. Paying the full price for the permits to the government is seen as decent and honest, whereas private bribes are considered seedy.