IRS Speeds Corporate Tax Audits (Lowest corporate receipts since 83)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37109-2003Dec28.html

The Internal Revenue Service is fundamentally shifting its approach to auditing business tax returns, hoping to rapidly expand the number of businesses it audits by shrinking the time and scope of many of those tax examinations.

With corporate tax receipts at record lows, IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson recently declared that corporate audits, which now take an average of 38 months, should be completed in less than half that time. Everson believes that by hastening the audits, the IRS will collect more taxes because more companies will fear that audits are coming. But others say faster audits will miss major tax fraud and would only embolden corporate tax cheats.

<snip>

Tax experts agree that corporate tax avoidance has become a serious problem. Corporate tax receipts -- already in a long, steady decline -- fell to $132 billion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the lowest since 1993, even before adjusting for inflation. Expressed as a percentage of total tax receipts or as a share of the economy, corporate tax receipts this year will be at their second-lowest level since the Great Depression. Only 1983's receipts were lower.

In 1970, corporate tax revenue was 17 percent of the government's tax take, before it began its long slide. This year, it will be about 7 percent of the total.

[AP]

1. Corporate income has probably MORE than doubled since 83, so this

means the tax burden on corporations has dropped in half (on average -- the biggest corps probably have the biggest decline in relative tax burden).

It's interesting that corporations rule America, and have grown in wealth and power, yet they're asked to contribute so little to perpetuation the infrastructure which allows them to get so wealthy and powerful.

[aquart]

3. Because they are parasites.

The claim is that America can't exist without them. In the meantime, we look the other way while they pollute water, air, land, take our mineral resources for ridiculously small amounts, and force our civil government to pay for their frauds and other errors.

A corporation that declares a profit that debits the nation is a parasite leeching the health of the nation and will eventually destroy it. See: WalMart.

The reason to regulate corporate behavior is heartless, mindless, soulless greed. They are also pathologically dishonest. There is no more reason to believe a corporate statement than to believe a Bush statement. See: Enron.

Lack of regulation, taxation, and oversight is as detrimental to the corporations as to the nation. See: Beef industry.

[Rex]

4. The worst is when they buy Democracy and sell us terrorism

See: Diebold and ducktape. Pure capitalism will destroy us.

[Voltaire99]

5. Great post!

Superbly said.

[aquart]

2. You mean, they still pay ANY taxes?

George, get on the ball!