The 30 mega-corporations in the chart below generated $164 billion of profits in the last three years and paid no taxes. Not only did they pay no taxes, they received $10.6 billion in tax refunds. Not a bad return on their $476 million lobbying investment. This was all done legally. You see when their lobbyists right the laws for Congress and the tax rules for the IRS, things tend to fall in your favor. I’d love to see the compensation amounts for the CEOs of these organizations.
Did you pay any taxes between 2008 and 2010? If so, you paid more in Federal taxes than 29 of these 30 mega-corporations. You should fire your lobbyist.
Remember this information the next time you hear Gingrich or Romney declare that corporate tax rates are too high.
Country’s Largest Corporations Spend More Money On Lobbying Than Taxes
In a “remember me, three years ago?” speech in Kansas yesterday, President Obama told the crowd, “This country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, when everyone does their fair share and when everyone plays by the same rules.” A new report [pdf] from the non-profit organization Public Campaign shows that 30 of the country’s largest corporations—including GE, Wells Fargo, Verizon, and Fed Ex—paid more to lobby Congress from 2008 through 2010 than they did in federal income taxes. What country was the president referring to?
Of the 30 companies, only one actually paid any federal income taxes: FedEx. The rest received nearly $11 billion in rebates. And even FedEx only paid 1%, 34% less than the statutory rate. As for lobbying, the 30 corporations spent a combined $476 million—or $400,000 a day every single day of the year, to ensure their interests were represented in Congress. GE led with way with $84 million in the three-year period (wonder why?) Verizon spent $54 million, and Boeing spent $52 million.
We can hear Eric Cantor crying now: “But these companies create jobs!” Of the seven companies that would make their employment records public, the report shows that over 50,000 Americans were laid off by these corporations, despite them turning a profit.
If you’ve been weeping uncontrollably if you even attempt to pick the paper up from your stoop following the news, the results of this report shouldn’t surprise you. But hey, a few more speeches in Kansas should straighten things out.
Admin – I have to say I think it is outrageous that you twist and invent positions for me. I am sick of it, honestly. I do not know why Smokey left, but I suspect it was for similar reasons. He was a huge supporter of yours, and you have seen fit to call him a cur many times since he left. I think he deserves better than that.
I have long been a supporter and fan of you and this site, and I very much respect what you are trying to accomplish. That respect continues. But inventing positons for me on a regular basis because I do not entirely agree with you on some points is horseshit. Suggesting that I support corruption, etc., is insulting. I do no such thing.
Some things I know a lot about and have a lot of experience in. I have a lot of business experience – from tiny business right through mega-corps. I am happy to be disagreed with – but when you invent positions for me it is insulting, and I deserve better, I think.
Smokey was a prick to just about everyone on the site. I’m glad he left. His vitriol was ruining the site.
I did not invent positions for you. You defend mega-corporations despite the fact that they have captured the economic and political system of this country. Supporting a corrupt system is supporting corruption.
I choose to support the middle class and the people protesting corruption by the rich pricks destroying this country. You choose to support them and defend them.
Your defending of corporations at all costs pisses me off, so I will continue to batter your views. Others can judge who is right.
TBP is all about insults and pissing people off. If you don’t know that by now, then you haven’t been paying attention.
The site has improved tremendously since Smokey hit the fucking road like a cur.
I’m deeply hurt by being called dishonest. I’ve never been so insulted in my entire life. This may require that I start to fight dirty.
Admin once again falsifies my position with “But you insist our tax rates are too high. Absolutely laughable.” What is laughable is how dishonest you are to keep saying that I have said such a thing.
The article you reference is in dispute. I have found no substantiation of its accuracy. I do not know. German tax rate is approx. 30% corporate.
Again – I NEVER proposed reducing the rate. I said if that were the rate that money would return. whether it would flow to shareholders as dividend or be otherwise invested or hoarded I cannot say. but it would return.
Of course you won’t admit a fucking thing. You simply ignore when you are blatantantly wrong and go on the attack if someone has the unmitigated gall to point it out.
Admin – I just do not see all of those evil bastards you refer to. I never have. I have been around a lot of rich folk and senior corporate managers – and although I have seen a fair few pricks – more or less in the same proportion to the general population – I just haven’t seen evil rich pricks or psychopathic managers. I just see people trying to do the best they can, and who look after their own self-interests. That is not an unusual state of affairs.
Most prevalently, I have seen corporate managers who are grossly incompetent. This is the norm, not the exception. They aren’t fucking over employees because they want to or are evil, they fuck them over because they are incompetent asses. In the end the result is much the same. Corps are run for short-term gain, with no long-term consideration. This has caused enormous strife. I simply do not fault them for using legal methods of running their businesses. I run mine the same way – if I try to do otherwise I end up in trouble. I do not make the laws, and I do not make morals or ethical standards. I simply try to run a business that will be here next week, next year, next decade, and continue to emply people and support my family. Government has the obligation to regulate these other areas, and it has the obligation to consult with business and give business a reasonable hearing. At the momement that requires money by way of lobbyists. It should not be so, as it opens up the doorway for untoward influence – which we all agree does happen. So I believe that lobbying should be stopped. I do not see how this belief makes me a supporter of the rich – it is in effect the same position as you have. The only difference is that I do not believe that all of the current lobbying is applying unfavorable influence. In fact, a lot of the lobbying is promoting the good of business. Just not all. Nevertheless, because of abuse and because it isn’t easy to see which is which, it needs to be stopped and replaced with something more transparent.
I do not think that incopetence should be confused with evil or corruption. Perhaps the results are the same, but in many things it is the intent that matters. And I do not see a quick solution for incompetence – managers will continue to be idiots and will do many wrong things as a result of being focused on short term gain. This is extremely difficult to address.
For instance, I would not tie performance to stock options. This has proved disasterous. I see no reason why a megacorp CEO should make more than a couple of million a year – they are employees, after all, and are getting paid to do their jobs. Why do they need to be incentivized to do their jobs. What horseshit. And I am not convinced that there are not thousands of folks who can do the CEO job. They are not such rare beasts as people imagine. That is why I hope that mutual funds, etc., will bring more and more pressure to bear on boards to do the right thing and move away from this system.
So I believe that I do not at all hold the positions you say I do. I am more tolerant of these folks than you as I do not see them as evil but incompetent and taking advantage of the system – which is human nature in my view. But the system can and should and needs to be changed.
Re corporate taxes, I never said that I believe corporate taxes should be lowered. I suspect that they are about right at the moment with respect to global markets, but loopholes need to be closed. However, it is not just corp tax rates that are the issue, but the totality of tax rates – which include payroll – which can distort things. It is a fine line to walk – if corporate taxes are too high, capital will flee. If they are too low, capital will return, but dividends will not be paid and revenue wil be lost as a result, as people will keep their money in the corps instead of taking it out and paying high tax on it then. It is a balance that must be maintained both with respect to the good of the nation and with an eye to global competition.