61% of US companies paid NO TAX '96-'00

[underpants]

Kinda blows a hole in the "double taxation of dividends" argument huh?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-3933562,00.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - Most American and foreign corporations operating in the United States paid no income tax between 1996 and 2000, government auditors said Friday.

Using data collected by the Internal Revenue Service, the auditors found that 71 percent of foreign corporations paid no federal income tax. During the same time, 61 percent of American corporations paid no income tax.

The study was done by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress.

In 2000, the most recent year for which data was available, an estimated 94 percent of American corporations and 89 percent of foreign corporations paid less than 5 percent of their total incomes in taxes.

``They don't pay their fair share, and the net result is that average taxpayers - working families - wind up paying more to make up that difference,'' said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. ``That's not fair or right.''

[Options Remain]

1. and the inevitable reply is.

"you should not be taxing corporations anyway because that is just passed on to the consumer. no corporate taxes = lower prices for consumers." - republican economist.

TearForger

[PROGRESSIVE1]

3. My Rethug Finance "Professor" said the same thing!

He's almost 80 so he doesn't have too much longer.

[underpants]

4. That is the philsophy that created this

As part of the "Reagan revolution" the emphasis on taxation became to let the individual pay the taxes. Part of the rhetoric was what you posted as well as -"The less corporations pay the more they hire"- well we know that not to be the truth and the taxation that would be paid comes directly out of the CEO and other officers pockets. Would they pass some on? Sure but since THE MARKET RULES they could only pass so much on.

Of course this theory also meant that instead of the IRS tracking down the corporations and auditing them they now had to find individual tax payers so the likelihood of getting caught was drastically lower. The individuals, the top in particular, have the means to pay someone to avoid paying more in taxes. Oh and to make the IRS more "taxpayer friendly" they started focusing on Earned Icome Tax Credit recipients who tend to have a higher likelihood of making a mistake and NO ability to defend themselves.

[Florida_Geek]

2. The Repugs fought against a part of the bill

did checking to see if the company paid any taxes to begin with before the double tax thing could be used. And their got that out of the bill that past.

[underpants]

5. Of course they did

That is disgraceful. But of course it got no media coverage at all, I hadn't even known about it until now.

[redqueen]

6. And of course it's in foreign media

:grr: