Study proves many U.S. corporations pay zero taxes

[meegbear]

Source: RawStory.com

Dozens of US corporations paid no federal taxes in recent years, and many received government subsidies despite earning healthy profits, a new study showed Thursday. The report by Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which examined 280 US firms, found 78 of them paid no federal income tax in at least one of the last three years.

It found 30 companies enjoyed a negative income tax rate — which in some cases means getting tax rebates — over the three-year period, despite combined pre-tax profits of $160 billion. "These 280 corporations received a total of nearly $223 billion in tax subsidies," said the report’s lead author, Robert McIntyre, director at Citizens for Tax Justice. "This is wasted money that could have gone to protect Medicare, create jobs and cut the deficit."

The study looked at 280 corporations from the Fortune 500 list, all of which were profitable in each of the last three years and provided sufficient data to analyst profits and taxes.It found the average effective tax rate for the 280 companies in the study over the three years period was 18.5 percent, well below the statutory rate of 35 percent.

The study concluded that 78 of the companies had at least one year in which their federal income tax was zero or less.

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/11/03/corporations-pay-zero-taxes/

[SpiralHawk]

1. "Far out. Just wonderful. Smirk." - RepubliCorp, Inc. (R)

"Too bad about you sucker American proles paying OUR FAIR SHARE. Bwaaa ha ha ha. Keep watching Fox Propaganda(R), paying your cable fees to us, and listening to Rush DraftDodger Limbaugh (R). Sneer. Bwaaa ha ha ha ha. Smirk. Suckers..."

- RepubliCorp, Inc. (R)


http://republicorp.us/

[Bake]

2. And yet they want MORE.

Gotta feed those "job creators" ...

Bake

[Scuba]

3. So end corporate taxes altogether....

... and tax capital gains at the same rate as payroll taxes.

[LonePirate]

4. It is far past time to enact a minimum corporate tax of some sort.

This is downright criminal that these companies pay no taxes.

[Historic NY]

5. the link that was missing..........

http://www.ctj.org/corporatetaxdodgers/CorporateTaxDodgersReport.pdf

[harun]

6. We need to move away from an Income based tax system and move towards

a wealth based tax system.

[renate]

7. "This bumper sticker cost more than most corporations pay in taxes"

I saw this on a car the other day. :)

[BigD_95]

8. Study: 30 top firms paid no federal income taxes

Source: Politico

Thirty large and profitable Fortune 500 corporations paid no federal income taxes between 2008 and 2010, according to a new study Thursday on corporate loopholes. In fact, the 30 companies enjoyed a negative effective income tax rate over the three-year period, even as they earned pre-tax profits of $160 billion, according to two think tanks, Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. A negative tax rate represents a tax benefit like a credit, not necessarily direct funds from the government.

Pepco Holdings, a Washington, D.C.-area power company, had the lowest effective tax rate at negative 57.6 percent and 78 of the 280 Fortune 500 corporations studied enjoyed at least one year in which they paid an effective tax rate of zero or less.

In addition, the average effective tax rate for the entire group of corporations studied over three years was only 18.5 percent, compared to the statutory rate of 35 percent. The total amount of tax subsidies given to the 280 Fortune 500 firms was $222.7 billion from 2008-2010. Wells Fargo got the largest tax breaks, receiving $18 billion in breaks from 2008-2010.

The top 10 defense contractors saw their combined tax rate fall from 19.3 percent in 2008 to just 10.6 percent in 2010.




Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67509.html

[Crazy Dave]

9. And yet they want a lower tax rate to create more jobs here n/t

[saras]

10. Yep. They want taxes substantially less than zero - that it, they want public subsidies. So?

Their job is to profit. They can't do anything about that, or the individuals with outsider opinions simply get replaced by more functional workers. Once you have the power, it's far more profitable to steal than to do useful work. When has a career criminal ever voluntarily given up crime for straight labor?

[Crazy Dave]

13. On top of not paying taxes...

They also get tax credits. I had once posted a list of corporations like GE that paid zero in corporate taxes yet received hundreds of millions in tax refunds. All under Obama's watch BTW.

[xchrom]

11. recommend

& the Super Duper Committee will get right on that & make them pay their taxes, right?
:eyes:

[valerief]

12. CEOs get paid more than than corps pay in taxes.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/31/us-usa-tax-ceopay-idUSTRE77U0KW20110831

[OhioChick]

14. Long past due to start collecting taxes on these powerhouses....

If they threaten to leave........show them the door.

I'm sure other countries won't give them a "negative 57.6 percent" tax rate.

[indepat]

15. And yet the answer to the deficit issue is to cut social security and Medicare, a

travesty, a sham, a pissing on the doctrine of promote the general welfare, a misfeasance of office of the highest magnitude by a wholly corrupt and venal government. The magnitude of the crime is intentionally understated to protect the innocent. :patriot:

[LiberalFighter]

16. Top industries benefiting

$213,173m Retail & Wholesale
$191,762m Financial
$125,560m Oil, gas, pipelines
$114,639m Telecommunication

GM, Ford & Chrysler has been paying taxes while 37 did not?

2009 YUM Brands did not pay taxes. It includes Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and WingStreet.

2009 Halliburton did not pay taxes.

[joeglow3]

17. Misleading for YUM

From their 10-k:

For 2009, the current federal tax benefit resulted from the favorable impact for pension contributions made during the year and lower U.S. taxable income. The benefit associated with pension contributions was fully offset in the deferred federal provision. Also, for 2009, the current foreign tax provision included tax expense primarily related to continued growth in the China business as well as withholding tax expense associated with the distribution of intercompany dividends.


So, for book purposes, they have been claiming pension deductions for years and have not been allowed to claim a deduction for tax (as there was no cash payment). This results in a deferred tax asset (future benefit for income taxes, as cash payments allow them to claim a deduction). Well, that time came in 2009 when cash payments were made. What would you have preferred? Should they have been allowed the deductions years earlier (reducing their taxes then)? Should they never be allowed deductions?

Sorry, but I am a tax CPA (spent 8 years in Big 4 public accounting and have been in a Fortune 500 tax department for 4 years) and hate it when people misrepresent what is in the income tax footnote (considering my job is the income tax provision and footnote).

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

18. But they're the job creators

:sarcasm:

[red dog 1]

19. "Flashback: Ronald Reagan Raised Corporate Taxes"

FLASHBACK: RONALD REAGAN RAISED CORPORATE TAXES TO FORCE TAX DODGERS TO "PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE"

"This isn't the first time Americans have had to deal with a tax code that let's the nation's richest firms get away with shirking their tax responsibilities.
In the middle of his presidency, then-president Ronald Reagan learned that a number of big corporations, including his former employer, General Electric, were completely escaping paying federal corporate taxes...So Reagan undertook a comprehensive tax reform effort that actually raised the corporate taxes and closed numerous loopholes that allowed big firms to dodge their tax responsibilities"

Read entire article by Google search ..."Flashback: Ronald Reagan Raised Corporate Taxes To Force Tax Dodgers To "Pay Their Fair Share".

[City Lights]

20. This makes me sick. eom

[Hotler]

21. Now is not the time to point fingers. Stop picking on the job creators. eom.