Trickle UP vs Trickle DOWN? Why aren't Corporations paying all the taxes?

[howaboutme]

We live in a consumer driven society as defined by those in control (i.e. Wall Street, CNBC and the government). Therefore why don't the wealthy, the corporations and Wall Street pay ALL of the taxes that are supposedly needed to run our government, run military and fight for our freedom? If average Americans had more in their pay check they would spend more.

Instead they (the rich capitalists such as Larry Kudlow, CNBC, and their ilk) are always attempting to lobby Congress to reduce taxes for the corporations and the rich, while claiming by default that average Americans should be paying more?

Corporations have the lawyers and they have the attorneys and they should have the intellect and intelligence to understand that when average Americans have more money and less taxes that they will buy more if they have more money.

Why has this concept been lost on fools such as Congress, Federal Reserve and Larry Kudlow who have never seen a tax cut for the rich that they don't prefer over lower taxes for the masses?

[LiberalFighter]

1. I contend that there isn't a company or business that pays taxes.

Only individuals pay taxes.

If companies and businesses paid taxes they would always be in the red. The companies and businesses pay taxes on behalf of individuals or companies that buy their goods or services. The taxes are built into the cost of those goods and services.

[Synicus Maximus]

3. Good point. companies don't pay taxes they collect taxes.

They include the taxes into the cost of whatever they are selling and then the customer pays the tax which the company passes to the government.

[gmoney]

5. Corporations pay taxes on retained profits...

but many corporations don't retain the profits, rather that money is distributed to shareholders as dividends, or as income to the principals of the company.

For instance, if a small company has profits of, say $50K during a year -- this is revenue in excess of operating expenses -- the owner could decide to keep the income in the company, and they would pay taxes at (I believe) about a 15% rate. However, what's more likely, is the $50K will be distributed as bonuses to employees (possibly just the owners) and that would be taxable as personal income, and would also be subject to local and FICA, unless the person was already over the FICA cap.

They do this to avoid "double taxation" -- If the company retained that $50K in 2008 and paid the 15% tax, then turned around and paid the money out to principals in 2009, they'd pay $7500 or so in taxes that could have been avoided by getting the company down to zero profit for the 2008 tax year.

Most costs associated with operating a business are tax deductible, and purchases related to producing product are exempt from sales taxes.

So, primarily individuals pay taxes... but some companies pay taxes. For instance, Apple is sitting on billions of dollars in their war chest, and they probably paid the 15% on most of that money that money when they decided to stockpile it. Or, maybe not, as I'm sure they have the smartest tax people money can buy working for them.

[BadgerKid]

2. Good call on the "have more, spend more".

It's the consumer's version of BigCorp(TM)'s claim that tax cuts produce more hires.

[Skink]

4. If they have a store they must pay either rent or property tax.

[noel711]

6. Hold the phone on this one, Sparky...

In the ruling for Citizen United, the Supremes ruled that
corporations are 'individuals' with the same rights as citizens.
They can give to political campaigns without prejudice.
So, as individuals, they should have the same expectations:

Thus, they should pay taxes just the same as individuals.

Why do they get all the breaks?