55 corporations paying no federal tax last year spent $450 million on lobbying and campaigns

[Nevilledog]

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Khashoggi’s Ghost
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55 corporations paying no federal tax last year spent $450 million on lobbying and campaigns

Weird how they'll gladly spend hundreds of millions to get out of paying taxes instead of just paying them.

55 corporations paying no federal tax last year spent $450 million on lobbying and campaigns: report
The 55 U.S. corporations that paid no federal corporate income tax last year have spent a combined $450 million on political campaign contributions and lobbying—including for lower taxes—according to...
alternet.org
7:58 PM · Jun 9, 2021

https://www.alternet.org/2021/06/federal-corporate-tax-rate/

The 55 U.S. corporations that paid no federal corporate income tax last year have spent a combined $450 million on political campaign contributions and lobbying—including for lower taxes—according to a report published Wednesday by the progressive advocacy group Public Citizen.

"Using Uncle Sam's money to lobby against paying taxes is the perfect embodiment of how Washington works." —Mike Tanglis, Public Citizen

The report, entitled The Price of Zero, cites figures from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy showing that at least 55 U.S. corporations avoided paying any corporate income tax in 2020 on a combined pretax income of $40.5 billion.

"Had these companies paid a tax rate of 21%—the current federal rate—they would have owed the federal government $8.5 billion," the report notes. "Not only did these companies not pay taxes, but nearly all also got money back from the government, receiving $3.5 billion in tax rebates, bringing the total 2020 tax giveaways for these 55 companies to $12 billion."

*snip*

[Faux pas]

1. Kickin' with disgust!

[Bristlecone]

2. 3.5 B in Rebates. Just pure insanity. We MUST get money out of our politics

[Hoyt]

3. If those companies had paid the $10B, that would have covered less than 5 days

of our normal deficit in recent years.

We are going to have to tax a lot of rich folks AND middle class people to get all the stuff we want— healthcare, education, childcare, bolstering Social Security, deficit and debt reduction, jobs, infrastructure, climate, and more. But there is not a politician in America with the guts to say it, knowing they’ll lose an election.

[Justice matters.]

7. Maybe they would win an election by a huge margin if they'd say it but just think they would lose...

Because that's what the 1% and their lackeys at MSM and hate radio tell them over and over?

TAXES
Most Americans Want the Rich to Pay Higher Taxes, According to Every Poll Everywhere
BY BRAD TUTTLE
JANUARY 20, 2020


https://money.com/wealth-tax-rich-tax-rates-2020-presidential-election/

[Hoyt]

9. If people understood the facts, they'd realize we are all going to have

to pay more. But politicians just keep telling voters, they won’t have to pay. That’s just not the truth, whether it comes from a GOPer who thinks we can just cut expenditures or others who think we can just tax everyone who makes more than them.

There is a lot of room to tax the wealthy more. But it’s not going to be enough to pay for everything we want.

[BigmanPigman]

4. This is what they consider a "necessary financial investment" for their companies.

They say "Let's screw paying the workers a decent salary or providing something positive for the environment or society". $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ is the only thing they live for, fuck everyone and everything else.

[Ferrets are Cool]

5. Well, to be fair, that buys a lot more than just "not paying taxes"

Gotta pay for that 3rd home and 2nd yacht somehow.

[dutch777]

6. But remember...there is no quid pro quo for political donations.

It's all just a mysterious coincidence. Like why all the pics and videos of UFOs are always shaky, blurred or otherwise out of focus.

[ymetca]

8. As soon as we cut military spending by at least HALF

then, and only then, will I even begin listening to beltway pundit caterwauling about debts and deficits.

The military can't even pass an audit.

Where'd all our money go?

[jalan48]

10. I guess we know who's in charge.

[RainCaster]

11. Obviously, money well spent

Somehow, these companies are run by folks we call "Patriots" .

[Hassin Bin Sober]

12. This is from 2006 but still just as true: Spending Millions To Save Billions

https://www.citizen.org/article/spending-millions-to-save-billions/

Spending Save Billions

Executive Summary

Members of a handful of super-wealthy families have quietly helped finance and coordinate a massive campaign to repeal the estate tax.

These families – the members of which own the first and third largest privately held companies in the United States and hold about a 40 percent share in the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart – stand to save a whopping $71.6 billion if their bid succeeds.

They have relied on their fortunes, the resources of their companies and their business connections to marshal a massive anti-estate tax juggernaut that has reported nearly a half-billion dollars in lobbying expenditures ($490.3 million) since 1998.

The families also have helped finance outside groups that have spent millions on fear-mongering ad campaigns intended to sway public opinion against the estate tax. These ads have shamelessly retailed myths that the estate tax is responsible for wrecking small businesses and family farms, and that regular Americans should fear a crushing tax bill when their loved ones die.

In fact, only about one-quarter of one percent of all estates will owe any estate taxes in 2006. And the American Farm Bureau, a member of the anti-estate tax coalition, was unable in 2001 to cite a single example of a family being forced to sell its farm because of estate tax liability – and that was back when the exemption level was only a fraction of what it is today.

[The Wizard]

13. The bribing class

writes the tax laws.

[SharonAnn]

14. Amazon and Bezos pay next to nothing but we're giving them $80 Billion because

Bezos wants to go to the moon.