After Getting Bailed Out By American Taxpayers, General Electric Pays ZERO U.S. Taxes

[happy_liberal]

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2010/04/after-getting-bailed-out-by-american.html

General Electric got bailed out by American taxpayers.

Specifically, it was given $139 billion in FDIC guarantees and support by the Federal Reserve for it's commercial paper (see this).

So you'd think that GE would return the favor by paying American taxes, right?

Wrong. GE paid no U.S. taxes for 2009.

As CNN points out:

GE had plenty of earnings last year -- just not in the United States. For tax purposes, the company's U.S. operations lost $408 million, while its international businesses netted a $10.8 billion profit.

Unfortunately, GE is not alone.

As I wrote in November:

The Washington Post notes:

About two-thirds of corporations operating in the United States did not pay taxes annually from 1998 to 2005, according to a new report scheduled to be made public today from the U.S. Government Accountability Office...

[GreenStormCloud]

1. Overseas operations pay taxes in the country that the money is made in.

U.S. stockholders pay taxes on their portions of the profits when they are paid a dividend or when they sell the stock, if the individual stockholder shows income that tax year.

It is not surprising that 2/3 of corporations didn't pay taxes. Only a few corporations are huge conglomerates. Most corporations are actually tiny business, often one person businesses, in which the owner has incorporated himself and owns all the stock. Most small businesses fail within the first couple of years. A corporation that is losing money owes no taxes.

[aquart]

2. Which somehow still doesn't explain GE.

[GreenStormCloud]

8. It explains it completely.

GE's stateside operations lost money. If you lose money, you don't have an income in the states. If you don't have a stateside income, you don't pay income taxes. However, the individual American stockholders will have to pay income taxes on their share of the international profits, if that individual had an income that exceeded their losses.

[Igel]

6. It's actually worse.

To fall into the category of "corporation paying taxes," it would have to have paid taxes each year from 1998 to 2005. If it was started in 2000 and paid taxes annually since then it wouldn't be included; if it was founded in 1997, lost money and paid no taxes in 2001 but paid taxes in every other year, it wouldn't be included.

It's surprising that 1/3 *did* pay taxes annually from 1998 to 2005.

[GreenStormCloud]

9. And most corporations are actually very tiny.

[elocs]

3. Yeah, read all about it here yesterday:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8162617

[bobbolink]

5. How...................

...................nice

[bobbolink]

4. What a revoltin' development that is.

And, of course, we are so surprised.

Fascism lives. :(

[Historic NY]

7. I think there should be published lists of all these tax-free corporations..

for the consumer to see.

[dickthegrouch]

10. How could they possibly pay taxes?

It's not like they had a profit or anything :sarcasm: