Bank Of America Paid Nothing In Federal Income Taxes...And Got Almost $1 Billion From Taxpayers

[ProSense]

Bank Of America Paid Nothing In Federal Income Taxes Last Year And Got Almost $1 Billion From Taxpayers

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Yet at the same time, some of the country’s biggest corporations are getting away without being asked to pay anything at all. In 2009, mega corporations like Boeing and General Electric managed to avoid paying a penny in federal taxes — while also netting enormous benefits in tax benefits and subsidies.

Now, with many companies releasing their financial reports for 2010, it appears that Bank of America — the nation’s largest bank — has gone a second year in a row paying absolutely no federal corporate income taxes. In fact, not only did the company use its losses to avoid paying taxes last year, but it actually reported a tax benefit of almost a billion dollars:

After another money-losing year, Bank of America Corp. got the upper hand with Uncle Sam in 2010.

The Charlotte-based bank had no federal income tax expense for a second straight year and actually reported a tax “benefit” of nearly $1 billion. Also, the bank’s billions in accumulated losses could reduce its taxes in future years, a tax expert said.

“Bank of America takes its role as a corporate citizen very seriously, and pays taxes in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations,” bank spokesman Jerry Dubrowski said.

“If you go out and try to make money and you don’t do it, why should the government pay you for your losses?” asked Bob McIntyre of Citizens for Tax Justice when Bank of America used a similar provision in the tax code to dodge taxes in 2009. Additionally, in one state alone, Connecticut, Bank of America’s state income tax tax dodging cost the state a whopping $500 million.

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In a press release from last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) laid out ten corporate tax dodgers who aren’t paying their fair share and called for shared sacrifice. “We have a deficit problem. It has to be addressed,” said Sanders in a press release addressing tax fairness. “But it cannot be addressed on the backs of the sick, the elderly, the poor, young people, the most vulnerable in this country. The wealthiest people and the largest corporations in this country have got to contribute. We’ve got to talk about shared sacrifice.”

[robcon]

1. No income, no taxes.

Pretty standard... the subsidies are on the capital side (balance sheet) not the income/loss side. They're still writing off a lot of mortgages.

[KansDem]

2. But, BoA is a "person" now!

How can a "person" not pay taxes!

I'm...confused!!! :crazy:

[ClarkUSA]

3. This would be an excellent campaign attack theme for President Obama in 2012.

Maybe doing so will make Congress more inclined to act after the Teabagger House is voted out (crossing fingers!) and we keep the Senate (also crossing fingers, Charlie Cook be damned).

[Dokkie]

4. they were not paying any taxes

even when we had majorities in both house and Presidency. How again do you plan on using this to attack the republicans? Also if I remember correctly its only people like Bernie Sanders speaking out against this. This system is corrupt and both sides are in on the con.

[ClarkUSA]

6. That's because Congress refused to act. Perhaps w/public ridicule on the campaign trail, they will.

Under Pres. Obama's watch, the good news is that corporate taxes will rise starting next month:

Businesses can expect a mixed bag of hikes and cuts, but with a higher total tax bill. Among the changes:

Higher SECA taxes for owners of S firms and partnerships by blocking them in the future from skirting payroll taxes by taking their compensation as dividends instead of salary.

New restrictions on worker classification to make it easier for the IRS to crack down on firms that treat workers as contractors who are really employees.

And elimination of some tax breaks for big corporations, including the deduction for domestic production, accelerated depreciation and incentives for foreign income and oil production.

Read more: http://www.kiplinger.com/businessresource/forecast/archive/tax_hikes_coming_in_2011_090424.html#ixzz1HuxeNvh1

It's Congress that refuses to radically change tax laws, not Pres. Obama. And now, the Teabagger House wants to roll back some of this progress. It is vital that Democrats take back the House next year and keep the Senate.

[Jakes Progress]

5. Granted it was bush's fault, but they go the billion on our watch.

Can hardly campaign against your own actions.

[ClarkUSA]

8. Actually, corporate taxes will rise starting next month, under Pres. Obama's watch.

Businesses can expect a mixed bag of hikes and cuts, but with a higher total tax bill. Among the changes:

Higher SECA taxes for owners of S firms and partnerships by blocking them in the future from skirting payroll taxes by taking their compensation as dividends instead of salary.

New restrictions on worker classification to make it easier for the IRS to crack down on firms that treat workers as contractors who are really employees.

And elimination of some tax breaks for big corporations, including the deduction for domestic production, accelerated depreciation and incentives for foreign income and oil production.

Read more: http://www.kiplinger.com/businessresource/forecast/archive/tax_hikes_coming_in_2011_090424.html#ixzz1HuxeNvh1

It's Congress that refuses to radically change tax laws, not Pres. Obama. And now, the Teabagger House wants to roll back some of this progress. It is important to our nation's financial health that Democrats take back the House next year and keep the Senate.

[Dokkie]

13. what good does it do to increase corporate taxes

when some people are not even paying the ones in the books right now? I say we start 1st by making sure the big corporations at least start paying what the small business down the street pays and make sure they pay it consistently and not just 1 year or when they are losing money.

[ClarkUSA]

15. Then write to every single Congressman and tell them that. Because they write the laws.

So far, they've refused to... of course, as long as Teabaggers control the House, nothing will get done.

[Dokkie]

16. omg, again with the defeatist attitude

How is it that tea baggers have all the power when we had congress, senate and presidency for 2yrs +? This I knew this was going to happen once the tea baggers took control of the house, that it would be used as an excuse all our complaints and here it is used by a DU poster to explain away the incompetency of the democratic majority. Just sad

[ClarkUSA]

17. lol! How is that defeatist? Those are the facts.

In the past two years, we had the House but the Senate was a whole other ballgame. Democrats did control the Senate, what with Lieberman being the independent 60th vote and red-state Blue Dogs like Ben Nelson and Evan Bayh siding with Republican rhetoric.

[Dokkie]

18. so your arguement to the voters

is give us even more numbers so that we can start fighting for you? the tea baggers seem to be able to do wonders with a small majority in the house and a minority in the senate but we cannot do anything for our base with majorities everywhere and that is what I call a defeatist mentality. Good luck selling that to the voters

[ClarkUSA]

19. "seem able to do wonders"? Really? What have Congressional teabaggers done legislatively so far?

[Dokkie]

21. Acccording to you

They have crippled the democratic party agenda.

[former9thward]

20. It was Obama that was part of the Congress - remember?

The new taxes you post were passed by the Congress you are deriding. What corporate tax bills did Obama sponsor when he was a senator?

[Jakes Progress]

25. oooooh. Heresy. You expect Obama

to actually to something for have done something. Don't you know his existence is good made manifest?

[Jakes Progress]

23. Not the point I made. And isn't that argument getting so tired.

Poor Obama. He has no power. He can't do his job because of the nasty old congress. Maybe we should have elected someone who can do the job. Maybe he shouldn't have run if he couldn't do a better job of it.


And raising tax rates that corporations don't pay doesn't help a thing. Obama has the pulpit. All he does with it is tell liberals to shut up. How about him actually proposing a little legislation? How about him working with the liberals instead of telling the few that are trying to help that they ought to be more grateful for him?

[displacedvermoter]

7. Won't happen as Bill Daley won't approve

That is what happens when too many bankers are brought together and the decision maker doesn't like to make waves.

[ClarkUSA]

9. Prove it.

This is what happens when too much bullshit is piled together and there is no effort to offer facts.

Here's a fact for you that can be attributed to Pres. Obama's leadership on the issue of tax reform as well as that of Speaker Pelosi House and Senate Majority Leader Reid:

Businesses can expect a mixed bag of hikes and cuts, but with a higher total tax bill. Among the changes:

Higher SECA taxes for owners of S firms and partnerships by blocking them in the future from skirting payroll taxes by taking their compensation as dividends instead of salary.

New restrictions on worker classification to make it easier for the IRS to crack down on firms that treat workers as contractors who are really employees.

And elimination of some tax breaks for big corporations, including the deduction for domestic production, accelerated depreciation and incentives for foreign income and oil production.

Read more: http://www.kiplinger.com/businessresource/forecast/archive/tax_hikes_coming_in_2011_090424.html#ixzz1HuxeNvh1

It's Congress that refuses to radically change tax laws, not Pres. Obama. Now the Teabagger House wants to roll back some of this progress. If we lose the Senate, as Charlie Cook is predicting already, then you can kiss these tax reforms good-bye.

[displacedvermoter]

10. Don't Have To.

Obama has to prove to me why Bill Daley was the bet pick for CofS at a time when major banks have raped the nation and there, as the OP points out, have been negligible consequences.

The fact is Daley has close --Siamese twin close-- to the banks and has the "Chicago machine smell" all over him. Too much bullshit is an accurate description of this symbiotic relationship between the Obama administration, the Chicago machine, and the big business interests.

Leadership!

[ClarkUSA]

11. Facts don't matter? Then your demonizing mutterings has zero credence.

No surprise here.

[displacedvermoter]

12. "Demonizing mutterings"

God you folks write good!

But I will keep an eye out for when the President uses this fact about banks and taxes and the rip-off of the American people as was suggested for his campaign. And when he does, I will acknowledge how good an idea it was.

I think pigs will fly first, but I look forward to hearing it.

[Jakes Progress]

24. So your proof is a right wing hit piece?

Why don't you prove that corporations will pay more taxes? Why don't you prove that BOA and GE will pay taxes this year?

You have no proof.

[Cali_Democrat]

14. Fucking cockroaches. n/t

[tomm2thumbs]

22. B of A Raises Account Fees 34%, brings back $35 overdrafts on amts under 10 dollars

Just got my hostage note in the mail today - what is all this talk about how raising taxes on people will hurt the economy...? It seems like Bank of America thinks raising fees is GOOD for the economy - or why else would they do it right now? 34% jump in monthly account fees

If Bank of America is supposedly a well-heeled expert at money systems and what it does for an economy, sounds like they are proving that raising taxes on the wealthy IS the thing to do. Right here. Right now. Raising their own fees during a troubled economy proves the point to me.

Crystal clear.

[donheld]

26. Why is this being Unrecommended?